


Roboworld

by HexagonCube



Category: Original Work, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:13:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 53,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25567249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HexagonCube/pseuds/HexagonCube
Summary: "Even in a modernized world, we can never live a life of perfection."In the year 3020, humans and robots live on the same planet. There are flying cars, talking robots, futuristic weapons, and more. With such advanced technology, life seems perfect.That is until a new Master takes over and the world becomes a complete chaos.Warning: There are mature themes and explicit language stated. Proceed with caution.Posted in Wattpad and FictionPress
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

The world is in total chaos.

People are running around, screaming, dodging bullets and laser beams from the grey metallic robots. However, their cries for help fall on deaf ears, resulting them to be eliminated by the robots. Buildings are falling down, cars are on fire, heads are being blown off.

As a man is trying to run away in the fiery city, a robot aimed his blaster arm at the human's leg and shot laser beams through the man's legs. He fell down instantly and groaned in pain.

While he is trying to crawl away, the robot advanced towards him and took out a gun to shoot his head.

Some people took stuff like baseball bats, metal poles, and tables to fight against the robots. Even the military employed soldiers, tanks, and planes to bring them down. Their efforts, however, were all futile. The robots shot the vehicles with no difficulty.

The people started attacking the robots by whacking them with whatever they can carry. Some bots went down, while the others lifted the mortals up and tore their heads off. It seemed like the humans are on the losing side of this war.

A young boy and his parents are running through the streets, trying to find shelter. They looked around for intact houses, but instead all they see is people getting gunned down, or people getting killed by laser beams shooting through their body, or people getting their heads cut off.

The mother carried her child on her back and ran faster. Robots stared at them with their menacing eyes. A few seconds later, they start chasing the trio.

"Get the car here!" The mother screamed at her husband. He took out a car key and pressed the button on it. A Nissan IDS Concept appeared a few seconds later. The family got into the car and the father started driving.

One of the robots looked at the car before swiping his hand to the left. Sure enough, the car turned to the left and is now going straight for a burning building.

"I didn't steer it to the left!" The father exclaimed worriedly, "The steering wheel turned by itself!"

Before anyone else could jump out of the car, it crashed through the building. Debris of all sizes fell onto the car, which caused the driver to be stuck as a few heavy cement blocks crushed his leg down.

"Shit." He cursed as he tried to get himself out, but to no avail. He looked at his wife and his son, the former shaking her head.

"Kana..." He said.

"No, Atsuo. I'm not leaving you." Kana cried, "I can't leave you here! We're a damn family!"

"That's why I place family over myself." He smiled, "By the time I take all these heavy stuff out, those machines would've already wipe me off the surface of this Earth."

"I can help you!" She tried lifting the blocks, but she wasn't strong enough. Atsuo patted Kana's shoulder, "It's okay, Kana. It's more important to save Hideki. He's our son after all. He needs to carry on this generation."

"Carry on what generation?" She screamed, "The robots are about to take over the whole world! Do you want our son to become a robot!?"

"I have a feeling he can do something to impact the world." Atsuo replied, "Trust my instincts, please. And leave here."

"I...I can't..." Her lips started to quiver as her voice turned shaky, "...l...leave you here..." He shook her body, "Kana. Please. I don't want all three of us to die."

Kana placed her head against his head, sobbing in between tears, "I'm really gonna miss you."

Kana looked at Atsuo one last time with tears in her eyes, then she kissed him on the lips before carrying Hideki out and running away. He grinned at her, "Such a cute woman after all these years." He leaned against the seat and cleared his tears as the sounds of the robots walking got louder and louder.

As Kana ran for her life, Hideki looked at her with confusion, "Mama, why are we running? Can't we just talk to them? Ms Honoka taught us that when we have a misunderstanding, we should sit down and have a chat."

"Your teacher must be nuts." Kana sighed, "At a time like this, sitting down will get you killed!"

"What about Papa?" He asked, "Why is Papa not following us?"

She looked at her son with a sad expression before looking away, "He's...gone. We need to get out of here."

"But we can't leave Papa behind!" Hideki gave his mother a sad expression.

"Like I said, Hideki, we need to leave." Kana replied sternly. Robots then appeared in front of her. She stopped and turned back, but more robots can be seen running to the mother and son.

"Damn! We're cornered!" Kana hugged Hideki as closely as she could as the robots came closer and closer to them.

"Please don't hurt my son!" She screamed in agony, "Take me instead if you want!" The robots took her and let her child fall onto the floor.

The robots took out their guns and continuously shot Kana. Hideki, unable to take the destruction, gunshots, and dead bodies anymore, started crying out loud.

As the robots aimed their guns at the kid, one robot held his hand up high, signaling them to stop. He is reminded of his time with a human family. The masters of the house have taught him how to do chores and take care of the child. When the kid grew up, he played with the robot and treated him with patience, respect, and kindness. Both of them had a good time together back then. Seeing the young boy made the bot very guilty.

"Leader, why are you not killing the kid?" One robot asked.

"I used to live with a family." The leader robot replied, "They had a small boy, and I had to take care of him. The boy was really good to me."

He then carried Hideki in his arms, "This might be the same. I want to adopt him. Tell the rest to stop the destruction."

He looked at Hideki, "What's your name, child?"

"H...Hideki."

"Hideki..." The robot replied, "...interesting name. From now on, you'll be under Bot 577's care."

In the year 3020, humans and robots are living in the same world. However, this time, instead of fighting, they are working hand in hand. in workplaces, robots take the calls of customers and clients while the humans write the important points in the call on paper and arrange a day and time to meet them.

In homes, robots are like maids. One robot is given to each family when they're built. They do household chores such as ironing clothes, putting them in washing machines and taking them out to dry, and do grocery shopping to cook for the family. In turn, humans provide meals for the robot and would bring them to the Robot Gathering Centre every Sunday, a place where robots gather to get repairs or talk to each other. They are then allowed to have the whole day to themselves before returning to their owner's home by midnight.

Cars are now flying and driverless, which means that the car can move on its own with directions given by humans. They can also request for a taxi by just whipping out their phones and tapping the taxi function in it. Maglev trains are operating to bring anyone from one place to another in just a few minutes, hours, or even seconds. They can also just ride a bicycle by paying for one online. It will then be delivered straight to their doorstep.

In school, humans and robots study together. There are no robotic teachers; only human teachers. In a class, three-quarter of the students are humans, while the remaining are robots.

A student is sleeping, lying his head on the table. He is tired from the morning. It all happened because he overslept and did not hear his alarm. When he woke up, he saw the time and freaked out. It was eight thirty two in the morning, and he had to reach school by nine.

He went into the toilet and washed himself with shampoo while brushing his teeth at the same time. He quickly put on a casual shirt and jeans before running down the stairs to the living room. He wore his socks and bolted for the exit, grabbing a slice of bread.

He rode on his bicycle to school as fast and hard as he could. He couldn't be late again. If he's late again today, it would be the third time in the week. Disciplinary action would be taken by then.

He kept looking at his watch as he cycled. Along the way, he almost crashed into other people and robots. On the zebra crossing, a flying car has to stop abruptly because he is riding on the road. The driver peeked out of his window and shouted, "Watch where you're going!"

"I'm sorry, sir." The man apologized and then continued to cycle viciously. He managed to reach his school just three minutes before class starts. He locked his bicycle and ran into the university, gaining stares from others.

Finally, he made it to the classroom, huffing and panting. One of his classmates pointed at him and started laughing. The whole class then joined in the laughter. The teacher stared at him before pointing his ruler at his shoes, "Why are you wearing those to school, Thomas Springfield?"

He looked down and gasped in horror. He realized that in his rush to school, he had worn flip flops instead of the required white shoes.

"And why do you look like you went for morning exercise before coming here?" The teacher asked, "All those sweat."

"I'm sorry, Mr Benson." Thomas bowed down, "I was rushing to school because I overslept. There are so many things to see like the traffic and walkway, so I wore flip flops..."

"Wait, so your excuse this time is that you overslept and you're rushing?" Mr Benson questioned his student, "What about your mother? Doesn't she need help with farming? Or your cat took a dump on your bed and you had to clean it up?"

"Mr Benson, all those reasons are true..."

"No, they're excuses. You're 22 years old. In your senior and final year, yet you still can give so many excuses. After school, you shall meet me here. Then you shall await your punishment."

Thomas nodded quietly and walked to his seat. Back to the present, he is dozing off peacefully. The teacher, a different one this time, walked to him and slammed his table with her hand. He got up immediately.

"Thomas Springfield!" She screamed, "Why are you sleeping in my class for today and the past two days? Usually, you'll be the most attentive one. It seems like this week, you lost focus on your studies."

"It's not like that, Ms Holland..." Thomas tried to talk back, but she just continued on.

"You'd better stop playing video games and watching movies late in the night." She nagged, "They rot your brains. Have an early sleep and study more so that you can do well for your final examination papers." She then walked back to the front and continued teaching. Thomas sighed as he leaned against his seat.

"As I was saying, there's more history of this world besides the collapsing of Robot Gathering Centre in 2998 ." Ms Holland stated, "You guys must have heard of the war between humans and robots a hundred and forty five years ago. A robot, named Bot 215, wasn't happy that humans are still taking more control over the world even when they're super advanced. Talking to the president then was useless. Thus, the war happened, and it went on to be the biggest war of all time. Almost the whole population of the humans were wiped out. However, Bot 577, one of the three leaders of the robots, decided not to kill a young child, who was known as Hideki. He was then raised by Bot 577 and some other robots. In turn, when Hideki grew up, he helped them build buildings, vehicles, weapons, and many more. It's like the humans and robots are working for once. Soon, the human population increased again, and they started working hand in hand with robots. The world was such a joyful place."

"Ms Holland," One student asked, "How did the robots determine who the leaders are?"

"Good question." She replied, "They have this place where they meet up called the Robot Gathering Centre, which is still up to today. They determine the leaders by having a public vote among themselves on the best robots to take the role, according to Hideki's biography book."

"Ms Holland, you used 'was' in your last sentence when you're talking about the world." Thomas said, "Why did you use a past tense?"

"Finally, Thomas! You're concentrating!" Ms Holland answered happily, "There were crimes happening back then. Robbery, murder, embezzling. These are the common crimes back then. Some robots and humans formed a police department team to hunt those criminals down. However, even after catching them, the jail time given to them was considered unreasonable to some. Therefore, a Master position was created. To take care of the well being of the world, as well as to punish the bad guys fair and square. Hideki volunteered to be one, and he did give fair punishments. Some humans and robots were initially unable to get along, so Hideki organized a few events. It took as long as sixty years, but eventually the unhappiness between the two races had lessened tremendously. Everyone liked that, so everyone liked him. So, from then on, the world is in an almost happy state."

"Almost?" One robotic student asked.

"Have you heard of the news? A person named Charlie Lee is found guilty for pickpocketing. He is going to get the death sentence. Because of it, protests started happening." Immediately, the class went into an uproar. Ms Holland cleared her throat and told the class to quiet down.

"However, we can't judge this Master's actions." She said, "Maybe he has a reason to do this. Let's not question it. Remember, if you don't do any crime, nothing will happen to you. And, be kind to each other, be it a human or a robot. Class dismissed."

The class started murmuring as Thomas thought about the war.

After school, he is tasked by Mr Benson to write "I shall not wear flip flops to school again" five hundred times on the chalkboard.

"What an old-fashioned man." Thomas grumbled as he started writing with chalk. After a long two and a half hours of writing, he is finally done with the writing. He wearily dragged himself out of the classroom.

"This has to be the most tiring day in my life," He thought, "Maybe I should go and buy a drink to perk me up."

He walked to the supermarket and went into the drinks section. He took a bottle of iced green tea and went to the check-out section. He took out his credit card and tapped it on the scanner.

After he paid for his drink, he turned around and started walking. However, he felt a little dizzy and leaned all the way to the right, making him bump into someone. He fell down onto the ground with a loud thud. He then heard a few things dropping onto the ground. He rubbed his eyes and saw a female face staring at him, smiling.

"Whoa!" He got scared and moved back. The girl just laughed. She has long flowing hair combined with a futuristic gradient hair dye of pink. She places a pink wobbly hairband with a butterfly knot on her head, and wears a sleeveless top, a white-and-black shorts, laced arm sleeves, and laced thigh highs.

He quickly got back up and saw that the eggs that the girl bought have broken thanks to him crashing onto her earlier.

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" He apologized, "I broke the eggs you bought! I'm terribly sorry! Please forgive me!"

She looked at him, "It's okay. I'll get another one."

"Let me pay for it." Thomas said.

"But..."

"No buts." Thomas declared, "I'll pay for the eggs."

After paying for the eggs, Thomas is walking with the girl, each carrying a bag of groceries.

"I already told you, I can manage, mister." She uttered, "I would like to thank you for your kindness, but you need not help me all the way."

"It's okay. I feel bad about it." Thomas retorted, "I'm so tired today that I didn't have the energy to walk properly. I apologize for what happened earlier."

"I understand." She explained, "I know when humans are tired, they tend to not concentrate. Daddy always tell me to think about human emotions and trained me to have emotions too. Like, when I get praised or commended, I should feel happy."

"Wow, your dad must have been a good father to you to teach you such things." Thomas replied, "Oh yeah, by the way, what's your name? I'm Thomas Springfield. University student." He then stick his hand out to her.

"I'm Kizuna AI, super intelligent artificial intelligence." She shook his hand, "Just call me Ai-chan."

"You're a robot?"

"Mmhmm." Kizuna nodded, "I'm still training to have human emotions, so forgive me if I make any mistake."

"Take your time. You'll eventually get it."

"Oh yeah, wanna come to my house to have dinner? These groceries are for me to prepare dinner. Usually, it'd be me and Daddy eating everything. You wanna join us today?"

"Sure." Thomas took out his phone, "Let me give a call to my mother first."

A few minutes later, they went into her house. She looked left and right before calling out, "Daddy, I'm home!"

A man in his forties came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you're back." He smiled, "I see you've brought a friend, Kizuna."

"Yea, Daddy. We met in the supermarket and he is so helpful. Can he join us for dinner?"

"Sure, why not?" The man then looked at Thomas, "Take a seat, boy. Make yourself feel comfortable."

Thomas sat on the sofa while the man sat beside him. Kizuna went to prepare dinner.

"Just call me Mr Jason." The man said to Thomas.

"Hey, Mr Jason, I'm Thomas." He introduced himself, "I'm a university student who is about to graduate soon."

"Oh, you're smart, aren't you?"

"Not really. You do have a cute robot who knows human emotions though."

"You mean Kizuna? She's my daughter. I mean, not my biological one, but I call her my daughter. She is specially built by me and my professor friend. As for the emotions part, I taught it to her since young. I want her to learn it so that she can communicate with humans more easily. So, tell me. How did you meet her?"

"I bumped into her and dropped her eggs. I paid for a new carton, and I helped brought some of her groceries back. We talked along the way, and I get to know about her."

"I see..." Jason is interrupted by his phone ringing. He sighed, "I'll take this call. Meanwhile, can you help Kizuna set up the dinner?"

"Sure." Thomas stood up and went into the kitchen. Jason let out a sigh of relief as he answered the call.  
He ended the call a minute later and stood up from the sofa as Kizuna and Thomas placed the dishes on the dinner table.

"Kizuna, leave some food for me." He told her, "I need to rush back to work. Urgent matters had popped up."

"Sure, Daddy." She smiled, "See you later."

"I'll see you later." Jason replied, "Thomas, enjoy your dinner with her."

"Yes, I will." Thomas said. Jason then ran out of the house.

In a park, a few robots and humans gathered in the middle of it. They are holding up signboards that read "Justice must be served!" and screaming the same sentence.

At the front of the pack of protestors, a man with robotic arms and legs clenched his fists.

"It's time for the Master to pay his debts." He snarled.


	2. Chapter 2

Thomas is eating the dinner cooked by Kizuna AI in the latter's home.

"You know, you shocked me when you said you're a robot." Thomas told her, "All the robots I see are the metallic grey ones. You're a special one."

"Lots of people told me that when they see me." She replied, "Daddy told me he and his friend specially created my face, my body, and my clothes for me to look just like a normal girl."

"Do you know the reason why he wanted to make you a human-like robot? Or why he calls you his daughter?" She shook her head.

"What does your 'father' work as?" He continued asking, "A CEO? A businessman? A banker?"

"I...don't know that too." Kizuna replied, "Thomas-chan, let's talk about you, shall we? What are your favorite things to do?"

"Let me see..." Thomas scratched his chin, "I like to watch movies, play some basketball, and sleep."

"Sleeping's your hobby?" Kizuna let out a small laugh, "I don't think that's considered one."

"It is." Thomas joked, "What's yours, Ai-chan?"

"I love playing video games." Kizuna replied, "I like having conversations with people, so that I don't feel lonely. So, by having this conversation with you, I'm happy. Usually, it'd be with Daddy. Sometimes he would have to attend to urgent work, like today, and I'll feel lonely because I have no one to talk to."

"Don't you have any friends?"

"I'm home-schooled, so I don't know anyone else. Would you want to be my very first friend?"

"Uhh...sure." Thomas replied.

"Yay!" Kizuna jumped in joy and hugged Thomas.

"Ai-chan, you're squeezing me so hard you're about to crush me." Thomas said weakly, "You're a robot, not a human."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She stopped hugging him and sat back down on her seat.

"By the way, don't you eat, Ai-chan?" He asked her, "You don't eat food or something?"

"Thomas-chan, you're so adorable." She teased him, "Robots don't eat. You're a university student. Surely you should know about this?"

"Right." He knocked his head with his left fist, "I thought you were the real human daughter of Mr Jason."

Thomas quietly continued eating his dinner before she told him, "After this, I'll bring you up to my room."

In the police station, police officers are being called to gather in the meeting room. They sat down on chairs as they discussing about the reason they were being called for.

"Hey, what do you think we're called for?" One officer asked.

"Probably some protest group has made trouble again!" Another exclaimed, "They don't stop chanting and disrupting the peace, don't they?"

"What can we do?" The third one sighed, "The Master now is such a dense guy. Even if we're supposed to stop those protestors, I understand them perfectly fine. I mean, just listen to the rules. Any crime committed results in a death sentence."

"Have you heard of the case of Charlie Lee?" The fourth one questioned, "Just because he snatched the purse off a woman, and he was caught, he was awarded the death sentence."

"Don't use the term 'awarded'." The fifth officer replied, "You make him sound like he's receiving some award or honorary."

"Bro, you'd better not talk about this." The first officer uttered, "If the commander hears this..."

Just then, a police commander slammed the door open and the officers immediately stopped talking. The commander's footsteps can be heard in the room as he walked towards the projector. He then switched his computer on.

"Hello, officers!" He said sternly, "I'm Commander Lee. I'll be in charge of you today. As you have heard, protests have been happening recently. Unfortunately, there seems to be another one in Garderner Street. Our aim has always been the same. To tell them to stop it."

"But what happens if they refuse?" One officer queried, "Especially when we keep telling them to stop and they don't listen?"

"You must be a new police officer, aren't ya?" Commander Lee asked, "Well, if they don't comply, we have every right to shoot them down. The Master gave us the rights to do so, so we shall follow what he says."

He then slammed the table, "Operation starts in fifteen minutes. Everyone, go to the storeroom to take some shields and guns now."

The police officers rushed out of the room. Commander Lee went to his office and grabbed his rifle. As he is about to leave, he saw a picture in a picture frame. He picked the frame up and looked at the photograph. It consists of him and two other guys who looked younger than him.

"Sometimes, the truth is hard to accept." He muttered to himself before placing it back on the table and running out of the office.

In the park of Garderner Street, the protest group are marching down the road. They are shouting "Justice must be served!" over and over again. The man with robotic arms and legs, who is the leader, led the group as they walked on the road.

"We can't let the Master have his ways again!" He screamed, "He has taken away many lives unreasonably! Do you think this is fair?"

"No!" The other protestors yelled.

"Do you want to have the same thing happening to your family members?" He asked in a loud voice.

"No!" The protestors replied in union.

"Then we got to show the Master that he's in the wrong! Not only does he outrageously gives the death sentence to anyone committing a crime as simple as pickpocketing, he also can't stop the bigger criminals doing evil stuff, and only concentrates on the small ones! He always gives excuses! Today, if we don't fight back, he will never listen!" The group roared in agreement and continued to scream, "Justice must be served!"

The police officers came in their cars and vans. They took out their tranquilizer guns and aimed at at the protest group.

"To the protest group at the front, please stop what you are doing." One police officer shouted, "We don't want to shoot anyone down."

"We have the rights to protest!" One protestor retorted, "The world has been an unfair place ever since the new Master took over! We're representing those suffering in silence! Those whose family members have been unsparingly slaughtered due to the new rules! Justice must be served!"

"Stop right now!" Another police officer screamed, "You're disturbing people's peace and sleep!"

"Nothing is more important than justice! Give everyone a second chance! If we don't protest, the Master ain't gonna hear us!"

"We're giving you one last chance, guys." Commander Lee cleared his throat, "Disband right now, and return to your homes. We'll have to shoot you down otherwise."

"Is this how the Master shut our mouths?" The man with robotic arms and legs asked, "He's being a really big pussy. He knows he's doing a really shitty job, yet he needs his people to cover it up for him. Don't be the Master's dog, Eddie."

"You're not listening to us, aren't you?" Eddie shook his head, "Alright, don't blame us for being mean. Officers, shoot them."

"Yes, sir!" The officers then reloaded their guns and started shooting. In turn, the protestors started fighting against them. Some of the protestors turned unconscious after being hit by sedative darts.

The leader of the group went to Eddie and tried to punch him, but Eddie dodged and used the back of his rifle to hit his body. As the leader stumbled back, Eddie ran and jumped before landing a punch on the former's face.

The man immediately got back up and carried the police commander before slamming him onto the floor. The man then took a fire hydrant and tried hitting Eddie with it but the latter rolled to the left, making the fire hydrant break upon being smashed onto the floor.

Eddie jumped up and aimed his rifle at the half-robot, "Stop this instant, Simon Costner."

"What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Simon laughed, "If you do, you'll..." He then got hit on the stomach by a sedative dart. Eddie turned back and saw an officer aiming his gun at the now-unconscious leader.

"Thanks." Eddie muttered.

Back in Kizuna's house, she brought Thomas up to her room after his dinner. He was shocked when he first heard about it. He isn't sure about how to feel going into a girl's room.

"Don't you think this is weird, Ai-chan?" He asked her as they are walking up the stairs.

"Weird? What's weird?"

"You bringing me into your room? Don't you think that's a tad strange? You're allowing a man to enter your room. Doesn't that seem odd to enter?"

"I don't see anything wrong with it." Kizuna causally replied, "I'm just showing you around my room."

"You should feel worried." Thomas looked at her, "What happened if I were to see things I'm not supposed to see?"

Kizuna laughed, "I don't wear any of those, Thomas-chan. I only wear clothes. Under them is my pure robotic body. Are you expecting to see something, Thomas-chan?"

"N...no!" He stuttered, his cheeks turning red.

The two of them then entered the room. The walls are pink. To their left is a small cupboard with a 40 inch LED television on top of it. Beside the television is a small room with tools. To their front is the window and curtains. To their right, in the middle, is Kizuna's bed. On the bed's left is a closet of clothes. On the bed's right is a glass cabinet filled with figurines.

Thomas looked at the cabinet and looked at one of the figurines closely. He felt a connection to it, as if he had met the person before.

"That's a Spider Man figurine." Kizuna explained, "The character was created in 1962 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. That was like a thousand years ago! He can shoot webs, cling onto walls, and has superhuman strength, speed, and agility. He also has a sense to warn him of danger. He's really cool, and I liked it, so Daddy bought it for me."

"This Spider-Man thing..." Thomas muttered, "It feels like I've been him before. In my previous life, I guess?"

"What did you say, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked. Thomas shook his head and looked at the cupboard under her LED television.

She walked to him and opened one of the drawers. She took out a bunch of CDs out and showed them to Thomas. He looked at them. The Matrix, Wall-E, I Robot, Terminator, Artificial Intelligence, and Robots.

"You really have a lot of movies involving robots." Thomas commented.

"Daddy told me to watch all these films, so that I could get a feel of the robots living in this world." Kizuna replied, "I didn't really enjoy watching them, except the Matrix. The Matrix is so damn awesome. Especially when Keanu Reeves was dodging all those bullets in slow motion. What do they call it? Right, the bullet time effect. All these movies were made more than a thousand years ago. I wonder how they made such advanced things back then."

"Looks like you really know your stuff, Ai-chan." Thomas said.

"Wanna watch The Matrix with me, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked, "I can grab some popcorn and drinks up."

"Sure..." As soon as Thomas said that, his phone rang. He answered the call.

"Thomas Springfield!" A woman's voice is on the other line, "Where the heck are you? You're promised me you'll be back by nine!"

"Alright, Mum. I'm going back soon." Thomas then ended the call before turning to Kizuna, "Ai-chan, I'm sorry I can't accompany you today. I got to go back. My mother's screaming at me already."

"It's okay, Thomas-chan." Kizuna smiled, "Another day, perhaps."

"Sure." As he was about to walk out of the room, Kizuna ran to him, "Can I have your number? It's for contacting purposes, and for me to invite you here again."

"Okay." Thomas passed her his phone. She typed her number in before giving it back to him.

"I'll see you soon." Thomas waved goodbye before walking down the stairs. Kizuna looked at him for a while before going back into her room.

In the police interrogation room, the robotic powers have been greatly reduced, which weakens the robot. Simon sat down on a chair, his hands handcuffed. Eddie sat opposite of him.

"You're making it seem like I did a crime." Simon told the commander, "But yet again, committing a crime will result in a death sentence. So, why am I in this room? Am I awaiting death to come knocking on my front door?"

"You did not commit a crime. Protesting isn't." Eddie explained, "However, you're disturbing everyone. Causing public nuisance with your group of uncultured swines. A day of probation isn't working. Neither is a week, nor a month. This time, it's going to be a year. Soon, it'll be a decade, then a century. When will you ever learn to stop doing useless protests like this? The Master will never change just because of you. How many times do I have to tell you? Master did this for the safety of the world."

"Eddie, I find you very funny." Simon stated, "I don't know why you're siding the Master. Don't you find no justice in this world? A hundred and forty five years ago, there was. You and I...we are very similar. We both suffer personal problems, right?"

Outside the police station, a limousine stopped at the gate. A man came out of the limo and walked to the entrance.

Back in the interrogation room, Simon continued talking to Eddie.

"We're just different by this one factor. It's about how the Master affected us. For me, he didn't find the motherfuckers who cut off my arms and legs, and he doesn't give a single damn about it. So I have to live with this body. What about you? Eddie, your brother's killed. Just because he fucking stole a granny's wallet. What a joke."

Eddie started clenching his fists.

"Eddie, you know I really pity you." Simon looked at him, "You're still supporting the Master even after he gave your younger brother the death sentence. You're such a naive person to think he's such a good person. He's not his great-grandfather, Eddie. He's not Hideki. Wake your damn mind up."

"Shut up before I rip your balls off." Eddie growled.

"Aw, look at that." Simon laughed, "Creases on your forehead. Don't get too stressed out. Maybe you should tell your children next time to not commit any crime, or they'll end up like their uncle. Poor Charlie. A life taken away because of some stupid rule. But for him to resort to pickpocketing, his older brother must have been either stingy, selfish, or he didn't teach his younger brother well."

"Shut the fuck up!" Eddie shouted furiously as he pushed the table away and stood up. He then held Simon up by the neck and held onto it tightly.

"Yes, Eddie!" Simon smirked, "Show me what you've got! Let out all the anger that has been built! Express to me your dissatisfaction that your brother has been killed! Vent all those frustration, anger, sadness that has been consuming you!"

Simon then whispered to his ear, "Remember to not kill me though. Because if you do, you'll end up like Charlie. Heck, you will be able to see your brother again! Isn't that a win-win solution?"

Eddie, unable to take Simon's taunting, roared in anger and slammed him onto the floor. Eddie's phone then rang. He whipped his phone out and answered the call.

"Eddie, this is the Master." The voice spoke, "Do not kill him. You clearly know what happens if you do."

"Yes, Master."

"I'll be waiting outside the room. I got some things to talk to you. And, by the way, thanks for stopping the group today. Sorry for telling you in such short notice."

"No problem, Master." Eddie then ended the call.

"Oh wow, it's the Master." Simon chuckled, "Has he given you a new instruction to kill me?"

"Shut your damn mouth, will you?" Eddie then walked out of the room. He turned to the two police officers outside the room, "Put him in the probation room now."

"Yes, Commander!" The officers replied before going in the interrogation room. Eddie sighed and walked away.

In Thomas's house, he got out of the toilet as he rubbed the towel on his wet hair. When he walked into his room, he saw a woman sitting on his bed. He placed his towel on a hanger and went to sit beside her.

"So, tell me, Tom, where did you go just now?" She asked, "I'm curious. You told your mother you'd come back before nine, but you only came back an hour and a half later. Did you get caught up in some accident or went to watch a movie with your friends?"

"No, Penny. It's something more interesting." Thomas responded, "I met a female robot today. She's a robot who has artificial intelligence!"

"Tell me more then."

"She's really smart. She cooks for her master, buy groceries, and she evens knows movies related to robots. She could tell me about a movie named The Matrix. She owns some figurines too. She's kinda cool, to be honest."

"That's just knowing a little, Thomas." Penny said, "Her master could have taught her what to say about the movie or something. I feel that she's just a normal robot like any other robot in the world. Emotionless, following their master's instructions, be their dogs. That's all."

"But she's..."

"Enough talk about her. How's your university exam preparations?"

"I think I'm mostly prepared. Just got to study a few more topics and memorize the history of the world. What about you? Enjoying your third year?"

"It's all fine. You know, when I think of university, I always think of how we met. Do you remember?"

"Of course. When you first came into the university, you and some other students were grouped into one group, and I was in charge of showing you guys around. I saw that you were lonely while the rest of then talked to each other, and so I talked to you."

"Ahh, the memories." Penny then held Thomas's hands, "Tom, I really hope we could stay this way forever. Once we finish university, and we find jobs to earn money, we can get married. Then we can start a family."

"Me too." He then planted a kiss on her lips, "Time for you to got to sleep. You got a spelling bee contest tomorrow, right?"

"Right." Penny smiled at him, "I shall go to sleep."

"Good night, and good luck." Thomas grinned. She kissed his cheeks, "Good night, my sweetheart."

She then lied down on the bed and slept. As Thomas is about to turn in too, his phone buzzed. He received a message from Kizuna.

"I was wondering if I can meet you tomorrow morning, since I'm free for the day. We can watch The Matrix if you want to. Or some other movie is fine. Text me back if you see this! ~ Ai-chan."

He replied with a 'yes'.

The next morning, he went to Kizuna's house and knocked on the front door. Kizuna opened it.

"Hai domo, Thomas-chan!" She beamed, "Have you eaten breakfast yet?" He shook his head in response.

"It's okay. Come on in." She allowed him into the house before closing the door, "Wait in the living room for a while, okay? I need to tidy up my room. I don't want you to see my messy room. I'll come down and tell you once I'm done."

"Take your time, Ai-chan." Thomas replied. Kizuna nodded her head and went up the stairs. He looked around the living room and realized it is so spacious.

"Mr Jason must be very rich to own this big house." He thought. He then felt thirsty out of the blue.

He walked to the kitchen and tried to find a cup to pour water in. As he is finding, he heard Jason talking to someone on the phone. He hid behind a wall as he heard the conversation.

"...make sure to keep a close eye on him." Jason is saying, "He's kinda affected by the events that has happened, so be sure to comfort him. Also, tell your officers to walk around the city to make sure there are no more protests happening."

"Protests?" Thomas is surprised, holding his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

Thomas walked to the kitchen and tried to find a cup to pour water in. As he is finding, he heard Jason talking to someone on the phone. He hid behind a wall as he heard the conversation.

"...make sure to keep a close eye on him." Jason is saying, "He's kinda affected by the events that has happened, so be sure to comfort him. Also, tell your officers to walk around the city to make sure there are no more protests happening."

"Protests?" Thomas is surprised.

"One more thing. About that guy...the protestor with the robotic arms and legs..." Jason uttered, "...Make sure he stays in a very secured place. Make sure someone's there to teach him that protesting isn't the way to survive."

"Thomas-chan!" Kizuna tapped his shoulder. He jumped up in shock before breathing in and out heavily. He then turned back and saw the female robot.

"God dang it, Ai-chan!" Thomas exclaimed, "You scared the shit outta me!"

"What are you doing hiding behind the wall?" She questioned, "Are you listening to Daddy talking to his colleagues?"

"I mean, yeah..."

"Thomas-chan, that's really rude of you." She frowned, "You're not supposed to eavesdrop on anyone's conversation. It's basic respect."

"Alright, I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Thomas bowed down, "I promise I won't do that again."

"That's good." She smiled, "Anyways, I'm done with my room. Let's go watch the movie."

"Sure." Thomas replied. As she walked up, he looked at Jason once more before catching up to her.

Eddie woke up from his bed. He had been mentally tortured by Simon the previous day, and it sure was tiring for him.

He sighed and got out of bed. He bathed and brushed his teeth. He wore his police uniform and walked to the living room. A man with robotic arms and legs, in his twenties, is sitting on the sofa, watching a show on the television.

"Really?" The man groaned, "Stupid guy! Doesn't he know that she still loves him? And yet he's treating her so cold like it's nothing? Even leaving her in the rain to beg him to come back to her. What an asshole."

Eddie took the remote control and switched the television off. The man turned to him with an angry face, "Yo, you don't switch the television off like that! I'm watching the damn show!"

"How long are you going to laze around, Lucas?" Eddie asked, "Ever since that incident, you've been a slacker at home. Eating, sleeping, drinking. You think drinking's good for your health?"

"You think I enjoy life? With these robotic arms and legs?" Lucas crossed his arms, "I lost my real arms and legs. Drinking can cure my mental pain."

"It's not like you're forever a vegetable or you're a wasted man. You're still like a normal human." Eddie explained, "You're still able to walk. You're still able to talk. You're still able to eat and drink normally. You're still like a normal human. Go out and find a damn job. Don't waste your life out here watching shows."

"You think I don't want to get back on my feet?" Lucas smirked, "Charlie is gone. Just because he did such a minor crime. I'm trying to make myself happy again by watching television shows. Do you think I'm enjoying my life right now? Don't you think I feel devastated over the loss of our own brother? The Master is out there, giving the death sentence to anyone who does a crime. And you act like nothing's going on."

"Me? Act like nothing's going on?" Eddie asked with an annoyed tone, "Bitch, please. Which sucker decided to gamble, lose all his money, get his house burnt down, get knee-deep in debts, being chased by loansharks, getting your car over-flipped and burned into flames, making the medical bill skyrocket? We had no money to pay for it. That's why Charlie had to steal. And don't even talk about the Master. He's the reason why you're alive today. Because I begged him, he fixed you up with his friend for free. Be grateful, you ungrateful brat. What makes you think I don't care? I'm more affected by Charlie's death, because he was my brother. He was so innocent."

Eddie then grabbed his coat, "I'm done talking to you. I got my work to do. By next week, if you don't find a job, I'm gonna kick you out of my house." He then stormed out of the house. Lucas looked at his brother leaving the house in rage.

"This is all the Master's fault for letting Charlie die!" He thought, "And Eddie's just being a good dog to the Master. I will not sit back and do nothing. I'll avenge for you, Charlie."

In one of the police probation rooms, Simon is lying down on the floor. The room is painted in white. There is nothing inside it except for a bright light source on the ceiling. Eddie and another man placed their guns in their pockets and entered the room.

"Oh, look who came." Simon got up, "It's my favorite police officer, Eddie Lee. Who did you bring today? Stupid Lee?"

"Show the commanders some respect, won't you, Mr Costner?" Eddie asked, "He's Commander Marcus. He has the rights to increase your sentence if you make any trouble."

"Oh, look, another dog under the good, great, and greatest care of the Master." Simon shook his head, "Just how many dogs does the Master have? Does he just take them off the streets or SPCA?"

"The fuck did you say?" Eddie shouted at him, but Marcus signaled Eddie to stop.

"You'd better watch what you're saying, Mr Simon." Marcus told him, "Listen up. You're given a year to stay in this room. I'm sure you're familiar with the rules, but I'm going to repeat it because it's my duty to say it out. Food and beverages will be served during the three meals in the canteen. Toilet breaks are given every six hours. You sleep on the floor. There would be no type of entertainment. The only one you're getting is staring at the walls or the light, which might blind your eyes. You will be guarded very carefully, so any tries to escape will be futile. The walls are all made of titanium, so punching them will just make your hand break. Last but not least, treat all officers with respect."

"Blah blah blah." Simon mocked Marcus, "I've heard that so many times. I missed this room so much. There's no way I would forget the rules. I have made so many memories here with your partner. Am I right, my dear Eddie?"

"Why are you calling me dear?" Eddie queried, "I ain't your dear."

"Whatever you say, Eddie." Simon gave an evil smile, "I assume I'll see you every day like usual, Eddie?"

"I wouldn't want to see you." He then turned around and left the room. Marcus followed after him, not before locking the door.

"Eddie." Marcus looked at him, "I just want to know if you're fine. Are you okay?"

"What would I not be okay with?"

"You know...the death of...your brother..."

"I'm fine. I believe the Master's doing this for this world's good. Even when I'm upset over his actions."

In Kizuna's house, she and Thomas have just finished watching The Matrix. He has throughly enjoyed the movie because of the deep meanings hidden, its story plot and its action scenes. The 'bullet time' effect also looks really breathtaking to him.

"See, I told you the movie's a really good one, Thomas-chan." Kizuna told him, "There's a reason why I like the movie."

"Indeed. It's really awesome." Thomas agreed, "I wonder how the directors in 1999 are able to come up with such a magnificent film."

Thomas stopped for a while before raising a question, "Ai-chan, do you know what your father works as?"

"Nope." Kizuna said, "He doesn't tell me anyways."

"I see."

"Oh yea, Thomas-chan, do you want me to prepare lunch for you?" She asked, "I'm going to cook fried rice with some broccoli and steamed fish."

"I think I'll pass." Thomas replied, "I have to meet my girlfriend after this. She just had her spelling bee contest, and I had planned to meet her for lunch and spend the rest of the day with her. I'm sorry, Ai-chan."

"It's okay." She smiled, "You should spend more time with your girlfriend. Although I'm going to be lonely, but I have no rights to hold you back. I'll arrange a meetup with you soon."

"Alright, Ai-chan. I'll see you soon." Thomas grinned at her before walking out of the house. She sighed, "Now I'm all alone. Again."

Lucas looked through the newspaper to look for jobs. He didn't have a choice. If he does not find a job the the following week, Eddie would kick him off. It's his brother's house after all. Lucas can't be angry at him, since he had allowed him to stay. Lucas can't do anything to him too, because any physical fight might kill someone. Even if Lucas is not killed, he's still be dead because of the law.

He circled the jobs he wanted to join, and called each company. However, the more calls he received, the higher the disappointment. Most companies wouldn't accept him. They either say he's inexperienced, too young, or he's arrogant because he is flaunting off his previous achievements.

He's stressed at this point. Almost all the companies didn't want to accept him at all. He was giving up on hope. He looked at the last job offer. It is working in an air-conditioned food court. He groaned and called the number.

"Hello, this is Lucas Lee." He tiredly said, "I'm looking...for a job."

"There's one vacancy available." The caller responded, "Can you make it in the afternoon for an interview?"

Lucas suddenly perked up, "Oh, I'm free this afternoon. May you tell me your address?"

A few minutes later, he went to the food court he was told to go. It's a place he didn't want to work in, but it's the only job he can get.

He walked in and looked around. It is empty. All the chairs are stacked on top of tables. The food stalls are all closed.

"Where can this guy be?" Lucas asked himself. He continued looking around until he saw an old man washing the plates in the kitchen. He looks like he is in his sixties.

"Hello, are you Mr Jacky?" Lucas asked. The man turned towards him, "You must be Lucas. Take a chair down and sit. I'll come to you once I'm done washing the plates."

Lucas took a chair and sat down as he looked at Jacky washing the plates and cups with a sponge. He had a radio beside the sink, playing some Chinese song.

Once Jacky is done, he took a chair and sat opposite of Lucas.

"Lucas, I told you over the phone I had a job for you." He told Lucas, "I would like you to help me wash the plates and cups for my food stall. Ten dollars per hour, twelve hours a day. This is the only job I can give you."

Lucas thought for a while before nodding his head.

"You are one special man." Jacky said, "You are a human, but you have robotic arms and legs. An accident happened?"

"Long story short, yes." Lucas replied.

"I assume you're in your late thirties."

"I'm twenty five, to be honest."

"Twenty five? Ho, that's too young to be washing plates and cups. You can't find a job?"

Lucas shook his head, "I used to have a job. I was a car salesperson. My job? To sell cars to buyers. Out of the five people in my team, I sold the least cars. Just one. My boss wasn't happy. He fired me."

Jacky nodded his head, "I understand you, Lucas. Being a car salesman is hard, isn't it?"

"But why did you have this food stall?" Lucas asked curiously, "People can just order food online, and it can be delivered immediately to your doorstep. Why do you still open this stall?"

"There are some humans though who want my kaya toast and teh-o." Jacky explained, "Teh-O is tea, for your information. Anyways, some oldies come here to enjoy the old times. Way before this futuristic world comes up with new technology and food each year. You know, fifty years ago, food courts are still relevant. There are people who enjoy this kind of food. It's not about the food, but how it's made. My father passed down the recipe for a soft, crispy, delicious toast and a savory tea. This is a family tradition. The people who came here, I talk to them about anything. Life, family, jobs. I'm close to them. I really want this to be carried down for generations, but my ex-wife ran away with our son, so he won't take over the business. Even if he does, the new generation wouldn't like it, and it would have to be closed down. What a shame. Technology is really taking over the world. No more going to coffee shops to eat, drink, and talk. Now, it's all about sitting on your sofa, ordering new food that just came out, along with unhealthy drinks. How I miss the old times."

"What happened to the other stalls?"

"The owners left. Nobody orders at their stalls, no profit earned, and they're paying rent. Why would they stay?"

Lucas then stood up, "I think I'll go back now. What time do I come tomorrow?"

"Eight in the morning."

Lucas nodded his head and walked towards the entrance of the food court. He turned his head around, "Thanks for hiring me, Mr Jacky." He then left the food court.

At night, Thomas and Penny had just came home from their dinner. They had watched a romance movie and went to an amusement park before eating.

"Did you enjoy today's date, Penny?" Thomas questioned.

"Of course! It's planned by my dear boyfriend!" Penny responded excitedly, "How did you come with such a good date? I'm really curious."

"It's because I use this." He pointed his finger to his brain, "It took me a whole week to think about it. I was scared that you will not like it."

"I will always like whatever you do, Thomas." Penny smiled at him, "It's the thought that counts. You came out with such great activities for our first year together. I really can't wait for the next few years. I hope you continue to come out with something better every year."

"I will. Trust me." Thomas held her hands, "But, really, Penny, I'm proud of you today. The fact that you got your team to the first position in the spelling bee competition is amazing."

"Thanks. That really means a lot to me."

"So, if I'm unsure of any bombastic words to use in my composition, I shall ask you to help me. Please assist me, senpai."

"Sure." She answered. They both then laughed.

In Kizuna's house, she and Jason are watching the news while sitting on the sofa.

"...today marks the night of the sentencing of Charlie Lee." The reporter announced, "A few months ago, he stole the purse of a sixty five year-old woman. He was caught by a policeman, who gave chase and eventually caught up to him. The death sentence was given to him, and he left the court in tears. This is the fifth criminal case that happened since the new Master has taken over five years ago. Protests started happening more often, and police are on the move, stopping them. Citizens have been posting their dissatisfaction online, and even insulting him. The Master has yet to respond to any of these. I'm sure we all have a question in our mind now: would the Master change his mind after the riots and the citizens' unhappiness? This is all for today, folks. We'll update you as soon as we can. Good night."

"Yet another case." Kizuna sighed, "I pity his family members. They must be feeling so sad right now."

Jason turned to her, "Kizuna, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Daddy." Kizuna looked at him, "Go ahead."

"What do you think of the Master honestly?"

"Hmm..." Kizuna scratched her chin, "I'm not trying to be political or anything, but I feel the Master's really unreasonable. He gave the guy a death sentence just for a small crime. That is so inhumane. He is cruel because he didn't give the guy a second chance. Isn't there a better way to solve this issue? Like give him a jail sentence or something. Like last time. Offenders are given a jail term depending on the crime they did, and repeat offenders stay in prison longer. That makes more sense, instead of killing the criminal. By taking a life away because of a crime, he has became a murderer. And that's a crime. So he's no different from the criminals, and yet he wants to apprehend them. He's really unreasonable, not to mention inhumane and cruel."

"Alright." Jason then looked at his watch, "It's getting late. You should sleep."

"Okay." She then hugged Jason, "Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Kizuna." He patted her back. She then went up to her room and closed the door. Jason stood up from the sofa, switched off the television, and went into his room.

The next morning, Thomas is eating breakfast with his mother. They are talking about the case of Charlie Lee.

"It was so sad." His mother told him, "A young guy's life. Gone just like that. His family members must be really devastated. Now people are speaking out, and riots are happening. But you know what? I understand them. I understand why they want to do this. They're angry at the Master."

"This world has been such a chaotic place since the new Master took over." Thomas sighed, "It wasn't like that back in your day, right?"

She nodded her head in response, "Our Master would give us reasonable punishments for the crimes we did. Your father embezzled company funds, and he got 4 years of jail. Totally acceptable. Right now, every crime equals to death. So, that's why you don't do a crime, son. Please, I don't want to lose my only son. You hear me?"

"Yes, Ma." His phone then vibrated. A text message was sent to him.

"Hai domo, Thomas-chan! Can you come to the supermarket and help me please? ~ Ai-chan"

He replied with an 'okay'.

A few minutes later, he got to the supermarket, where he saw Kizuna standing beside a bag of groceries.

"Thomas-chan! You're finally here!" She squealed in delight.

"What happened, Ai-chan?"

"I really need a bit of help." She told him, "I need to get to Robot Gathering Centre to fix my right arm. I think it's a little broken because I'm carrying the groceries on one hand, and it's kinda heavy. I thought I could manage it."

"Are you okay?" Thomas asked worriedly, checking her arm.

"You're cute when you care." She giggled. His cheeks turned red as a tomato immediately.

"I'm fine." Kizuna replied, "Just a little fix and I'm done. But I don't wanna carry all these groceries with me while I go there. Can you help me bring it back home?"

"Sure!" He said.

"Yay, thank you, Thomas-chan!" She hugged him before giving him the house key, "You can't use face recognition at our house, so use the key. Place the groceries on the kitchen table, then wait in my house for me, alright? I'll be back as soon as I can."

He nodded, "Ai-chan, I remembered you have a small room and some tools. Why don't you use those?"

"I don't really know how to fix myself. Besides, the only person who can repair me is Daddy, and he's at work. I don't want to disturb him in the midst of his work."

"I see. Alright, I'll see you later."

Thomas then went to her house and placed the groceries on the kitchen table, as Kizuna had instructed him to do.

He is still curious about Jason's identity. He thought about why Jason had talked about protests and looking after a police officer. He might be a policeman, Thomas thought.

He looked around the house to make sure no one is around. He then went to the second floor and tried to find Jason's room. Fortunately, it is easy, as there are only four rooms on the second floor, and not much guess-and-check is needed.

He opened the door, went into the room and looked around. There is a bed, a small coffee table beside it, a toilet, a big wardrobe, and a study table. Thomas went to the study table first. There were lots of newspaper cut-outs on it, and he checked each one of them. It is a collection of crime-related articles. Murder, robbery, hit-and-run, and more.

He walked to the coffee table, where two photo frames with stands are on it. The first photo is Jason with a woman and a small girl. The second picture is a young man with Hideki.

"Hideki?" He looked at the picture, "Is Hideki related to Mr Jason?" Before he could think any longer, he heard the door open.

When Thomas turned around, he couldn't see who was at the door due to the sunlight shining brightly towards him. Thomas then got shot by a tranquilizer dart. He fell down and became unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

Thomas woke up with a start. He looked around and realized that he is in Kizuna's room, sleeping on her bed. She is watching the film Robots.

"Ai-chan, how long have I been out?" He stretched his arms. Kizuna turned around and saw that he is awake. She paused the movie and went to him.

"You've finally woke up, Thomas-chan!" Kizuna hugged him, "I thought you were going to stay unconscious for a long period of time. I was kinda worried for you."

"Alright, Ai-chan, I know you're finally relieved. I'm alive, so can you please not embrace me so hard?" Thomas groaned, "I'm choking for air here."

"Oops, I'm sorry!" She giggled as she let go, "By the way, when I came back, you were like unconscious in my father's room. That was around twelve, I guess. While you were knocked out, you got thirteen missed calls from someone called 'Penny' with a heart-shaped at the back of the name."

"Oh, shit!" He searched frantically for his phone until he found it beside him. He switched it on and got a shock.

"She's gonna be so mad at me." He thought. He then turned to Kizuna, "So I've been here since ten in the morning, and now it's five. I've been asleep for seven hours?!"

"It seems like it." She replied, "Now that I thought of something, I find it kinda weird. You were shot with a tranquilizer dart, so that means someone came into the house, but nothing in this home seemed to be stolen. This is extremely strange. All I can think of is that someone went into the house with you while you were not noticing, and then he shot you at the right moment. But I don't get it: why did he shoot you?"

"Who knows? You should explain this to your dad later. Maybe he can try to help us solve this mystery."

Thomas then got out of the bed.

"Where are you going, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked, "I've cooked dinner for you."

"Thanks for the kind thought, but I need to rush home now." Thomas said, "My mother and my girlfriend must be worried for me. Thanks for taking care of me, and I'll see you soon!" He then ran out of the room and out of the house.

"Run as fast as you can, Springfield!" He muttered to himself, "Run as fast as your legs can carry you!"

Thomas's mother and Penny are waiting at home. The former paced up and down the living room.

"He's going to be home soon, Mrs Springfield." Penny assured her, "Maybe he had forgotten to call you back. He will be fine."

"What happens if my son gets kidnapped by some people?" His mother asked worriedly, "Or worse, they kill him and bury him somewhere we can't find?"

"Mrs Springfield, that will never happen. The new Master's rules state that anyone who does a crime will get a death sentence. Surely they won't be daring anything that can lead to their demise."

Thomas then barged into the door, huffing and puffing.

"Thomas Springfield!" His mother marched to him, "Do you know how worried I was when you didn't pick up Penny's calls? I thought you were kidnapped or something! You made me so scared!"

"I overslept at a friend's house, Mum." He held his mother's shoulders, "I'm fine, Mum. I came back safe and sound, didn't I?"

"Don't make so worried next time." She crossed her arms, "When you see a call by me or your girlfriend, answer it."

"Yes, Ma'am." Thomas joked.

In his room, he and Penny sat down together on their bed.

"Tell me, Tom." Penny turned to her boyfriend, "Where have you been?"

Tom took a deep breath before he started talking, "You wouldn't believe this, but I got shot by a tranquilizer dart. So, I went to Ai-chan's house to help her..."

"Oh, that robotic girl again..."

"Let me finish. I helped her by bringing her groceries back home. After that, I decided to check her father's room out, and I saw some news articles about crimes. When I saw the pictures he had placed beside his bed, someone came in and shot me. It wasn't a gun, which explains why I ain't dead. But then I was unconscious for seven hours and that's why I didn't answer your call. Ai-chan told me to

"Why would you check someone's room? Where's your manners, Tom?" Penny asked angrily, "That's basic courtesy, and a breach of privacy."

"I need to check if he's the Master." Thomas talked back, "The way he talked on the phone...it sounded like how the Master would've talked. Probably he could be the one who shot me. He didn't want me to find out he's the Master."

"We don't even know much about him except that he's a descendant of Hideki. Why bother trying to search him up? You have your exams coming up and this is what you care about? Get your damn priorities straight. You also have no evidence to say that the Master shot you. Clearly nothing. And don't get me started on that female robot. She's obviously creating trouble for you. Twice in a week, your mother's sick worried because you didn't return home on time. And both times, you were with her in her house. So, I ain't letting this happen the third time, Thomas. You'd better stop hanging out with her."

"C'mon, it's just a pure coincidence." Thomas retorted, "I came back late because of myself. Not because of her. I'm the forgetful one. But, are you jealous that I'm spending time with her?" He then gave a cheeky smile.

"N...no, I'm n...not!" She stuttered, "I'm just concerned that your mother won't be in peace if she don't see you."

"Relax, jeez. She's just a friend. Nothing special. I only meet her when I'm free. Anyway, your class starts early tomorrow, doesn't it? Go and sleep so that you have a good rest and be energized tomorrow."

"But I'm not done."

"Well, we can talk about this some other time." Thomas patted her, "After all, sleep and studies are important, aren't they? You can't afford to be late after being late once. You're the class leader. Show a good example to your other classmates. I'll sleep ten minutes later, alright?"

"Alright." Penny kissed his cheeks, "Good night, Tom."

"Good night." He replied. As she went to sleep, Thomas walked out of his room.

In Kizuna's room, she lied on her bed. She yawned and stretched her arms. She was about to turn in for the night when her phone vibrated, which lets her know that a text message was sent to her.

She checked it and realized it was from Thomas.

"Hey, Ai-chan. I just wanted to know if your arm is okay. I apologize for not asking earlier. I was really in a rush - Thomas."

Kizuna smiled and dialed in his number before calling him.

"Hey, Thomas-chan, thanks for asking about my arm." She said happily, "I got it fixed by my usual doctor."

"I'm glad you're okay, Ai-chan. Why did you call me though? You could've texted me."

"I was bored." She rejoined, "I wanted to hear my friend's voice too. Besides, I can't show you my gratitude through texting. Saying it with my tone and voice makes it more convincing."

Both of them then laughed.

"But, seriously, I have not felt any care from anyone except Daddy. It's the first time I felt care...from a stranger. The feeling's good, so thanks for asking. It really makes me contented to show that you care about me."

"Don't say that. We're friends. Friends care for one another."

"Thomas-chan, I really do hope we can meet up more often. I like hanging out with you. Not because you're my only friend, but also because you are a great human to hang out with, and I like hanging out with you.

"I'll try my best to meet up with you, Ai-chan. Anyways, I got school tomorrow. I'll talk to you next time. I have to sleep soon."

"Alright. Good night, Thomas-chan."

"Good night to you, Ai-chan." He then ended the call. She placed her phone beside her and smiled as she closed her eyes and lied on her bed.

The next morning, Lucas reported to the food court in a singlet, short pants, and slippers. He went to the kitchen and examined it. The walls are not cleaned properly, leaving stains all over it. The floor is very slippery. The stoves couldn't be switched on, which means it is spoiled. He then smelt a faint, yet smelly and unpleasant scent. He followed it, only for it to lead him to the toilet. The sink is covered in vomit and grime, and the tissues used are thrown everywhere. The toilet bowls and cubicles are also smelly.

He accidentally touched the wall in the toilet, which is extremely sticky. He wanted his hands to be clean, so he definitely needs soap to wash the stickiness away. To his horror, when he placed his hand under the soap dispenser, nothing came out. He couldn't believe his eyes. He tried knocking it and positioned his hands under it again. Nothing happened. He pulled his hands away and then laid his hands under it once more. No soap came out.

Lucas groaned and got out of the toilet. He went to the sink to wash his hands with dishwashing liquid. He then got a whiff of his hands and gave a disgusted look. The liquid didn't smell that nice on his hands. He sighed and thought nothing in this kitchen could ever be good. He then glanced at the sink. Once he saw it, he had no words to say. He is left speechless. The sink is surprisingly clean. The cups are almost clean, and the plates look adequate in terms of cleanliness. The kettle is also in tip-top shape.

"Almost everything here is in a bad condition." He shook his head in dissatisfaction when Jacky came to him with a pair of boots, a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants.

"Morning, Lucas." He passed his worker the three things, "Wear all these for work."

"Isn't my work outfit sufficient? It's just cleaning plates, cups, and utensils."

"Yeah, of course it is. But, we have customers. My friends. I don't want them to freak out. I can be normal around you, but that doesn't mean others can. So wear them. The shirt are to hide your robotic arms. The pants are to hide your robotic legs. The boots are to hide your robotic feet. Go to the toilet to wear it."

"But it's so smelly!" Lucas retorted, "Have you not washed the damn toilet for ages?"

"Don't use the toilet behind. Use the one two blocks away from here." Jacky explained, "The toilet bowls are spoilt because there are some teenage punks who came here to make a ruckus. Fixing the toilet would result in them destroying it again. They come on some days. Still, I don't think it's a problem. Just ignore them, and everything will be fine."

"O....kayy." Lucas slowly nodded his head and grabbed the clothes and boots before walking out of the food court.

Kizuna is sweeping the floor with a broom in her house's living room. After she is done cleaning up, she sat on the sofa to rest for a while. Jason then came out of his room in his work outfit.

"Daddy," She looked at him, "Something big happened yesterday morning. I wanted to tell you about it, but you came back very late last night, and I was asleep by then."

"Kizuna, you can tell me when I return from my work." Jason wore his shoes, "I'm in a rush now." He then walked out of the house. Kizuna looked at him as he got into the car and drove off.

"I guess he's late for work today." She thought.

In the university, Thomas is thinking about the person who had shot him the previous day. He couldn't figure who or why that someone had knocked him out with a tranquilizer dart. The first thing that comes to his mind is Jason. Jason could've shot him as the former was scared the latter might have found out his secrets as the Master.

However, it can be a robber too. The robber could've shot him as the robber wanted to steal some valuables. Even though Kizuna had said nothing was stolen, Thomas thought the robber might have taken something away. Something that didn't caught Kizuna's attention.

There are many more possibilities that he could have thought of, but he was interrupted by Ms Holland. She took a ruler and hit Thomas's head.

"Mr Springfield!" She screamed at him, "Are you even concentrating on the lesson or not? You always seem to daydream or doze off in my class, don't you?"

"It's not like that, Ms Holland."

"What is it this time?" She asked, "You told me before that you were helping your mother do the household chores until late at night. Then you said to me you were watching movies and playing games at night. Then you apprised me of your cat taking a dump on your bed, and you had to clean up. On the previous lesson, you voiced out to Mr Benson that you overslept, and thus you didn't hear your alarm and were late for class. What's the excuse now?"

"I was thinking of someone who shot me and made me unconscious for seven hours."

Immediately, everyone in the class laughed. Ms Holland shook her head and slammed her hand on his table.

"Thomas Springfield!" She glared at him, "You've given me and the other teachers so, so, so many lame, stupid, nonsensical excuses this week. You are usually our model student, so why are you like this? Is it because the exams are coming? In fact, if they are coming, you should sleep earlier and study diligently and smartly. You do not do whatever you want in the class. One more time you sleep, you'll go straight to the Principal's office. Do you understand?"

Thomas nodded his head meekly. He has to start to buck up if he wants to score well in his final examinations.

Lucas is washing the plates and cups while Jacky is talking to one of his old friends. Once he was done washing, he took the trash bag out of the kitchen and to the rubbish dump. When he saw the amount of trash bags beside the rubbish dump, he was shocked. There are twenty seven bags exactly beside the rubbish dump.

"Since I'm working here, I might as well make this place clean." He thought, "It's good for me because I don't have to smell this horrendous stench if I were to clean up every day."

As he is placing the bags into the dump, five teenage boys walked to him. They are carrying baseball bats.

"Are these kids the teenage punks Uncle Jacky was talking about?" He thought. He then looked at them, "What do you want?"

"Get lost, sucker!" The first boy said, "We are going to wreck this dump and then the old man's store!"

"I'm a worker here. You can't just destroy anything you want." Lucas said, "I can report you to the police if you tear down anything here."

"Does it look like we care?" The boy turned to his gang, who shook their heads. The boy then turned back to Lucas, "Now scram off before we do anything that can hurt you."

"You should really go to a school and study. Didn't your mothers teach you that being gangsters are horrible?"

"You don't want to let us do what we want? Fine. Don't go back crying to your mama saying we bullied you."

The five boys then tried to whack Lucas but he dodged all of them. He punched one of them away while kicking another in the face.

The third boy went tried to hit Lucas on the head with the bat, and it succeeded. Lucas fell down onto the ground, with the three standing boys swung their bats at his face. The first two boys got up and joined in.

By this point, Lucas is feeling enraged. He came here for a job to get income, not to get beaten up by kids. He guarded himself while waiting for a moment to attack. He then booted one of the boys in the face and snatched his bat away. He slid out of his previous position and stood up, ready to fight.

Lucas whacked the boys one by one as hard as he could. As he was fighting, Jacky came out and saw his employee brawling with the boys. He ran forward to Lucas.

"Lucas, you'd better stop hitting them!" Jacky said, "You're hitting small kids! Just let them go!"

"Uncle Jacky, they're the ones who are disturbing you!" Lucas replied, "I'm going to teach them a lesson!"

"Don't do it!" Jacky tried to hold Lucas back while the latter continuously whacking the first boy. The other boys are seriously injured, with cuts and wounds on their face, body, and legs. A passer-by walked past and saw the scene. She took some photos without them realizing and then ran off.

After a few more beatings, Lucas threw the bat away. He was tired from fighting them, but it sure gave him a sense of satisfaction. He held the first boy up by the collar.

"If you and your gang ever try to come here and create any trouble, I won't let you off." Lucas told him sternly, "You understand?" The boy nodded weakly. Lucas then dumped him on the floor. The gang members slowly crawled away.

"Lucas, it's okay to let them do whatever they want." Jacky sighed, "Why did you beat them up? They are young."

"They got to learn from young. Besides, I feel satisfied. Now, they won't disturb us ever again. Isn't that what you want, Uncle Jacky?"

Jacky nodded his head, "That's pretty true too. Guess I won't be seeing them here anymore."

After school, Thomas walked to the supermarket to get a drink. He is still thinking about the incident that happened the previous morning. In fact, it has been in his mind for the whole day. He couldn't concentrate in any of his classes. He tried to think of Jason as the Master, but he had no evidences.

"The newspaper articles don't say much, and the pictures are normal." He thought, "What the hell is going on?"

He took a bottle of his favorite ice green tea and went to the check-out section. After he payed for it, he turned around and walked towards the exit. Someone then bumped into him.

"Ouch!" Thomas groaned in pain as he rubbed his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, are you okay, mister?" The man asked. He is in his sixties and had white hair. He wore a formal suit and tie and a pair of black leather shoes.

"I'm fine." Thomas responded, "But are you made out of metal? Why is your body so hard?"

"I train at the gym, mister. If there's nothing else, I shall be taking my leave." He then walked out of the supermarket. As Thomas is about to walk to the exit, he saw a name card from the man's blazer falling onto the floor. Thomas picked it up and looked at it. It stated, "Mike Porter, CEO."

He ran after the man and tapped him on the shoulder. The man then turned around.

"You dropped this, Mr Porter." Thomas gave the card to him.

"Thank you, young man." Mike bowed down. Thomas smiled and then went off towards his house. Mike looked at the student and decided to follow him.

At the food court, Jacky was about to close down the store when Eddie and a bunch of police officers came to him.

"Are you Mr Jacky Chan?" Eddie asked. Jacky nodded his head, "Is anything the problem?"

"Apparently, we got a report that someone has seen your employer beat up a bunch of boys." Eddie said, "May I know where is Lucas Lee?"

Jacky looked at them with shock and surprise.


	5. Chapter 5

After interrogating Jacky, Eddie and Marcus went back to the former's office to talk about the incident.

"So Lucas attacked the boys because they attacked him first, according to Mr Chan." Marcus said, "Are you sure your brother didn't attack first, Eddie?"

"I have no idea." Eddie replied, "I'm going to ask him when I get back home. I can't believe he's creating trouble again."

"It must have been hard on you." Marcus pated his partner's shoulder, "Having two brothers that don't support the Master from the start and give you trouble all the time."

"I'm used to it. They don't like listening to me anyways, especially Lucas."

"So, what are you going to do if you found out he attacked them first?"

"Well, he'll be in the probation room. I don't have the bravery to give him a death sentence. I need to convince the Master that this is just a very small case."

Immediately, after he said that, his phone rang. Eddie slowly whipped his phone out and gulped upon looking at his screen.

"Who's it?" Marcus questioned. Eddie answered the call with a quivering voice, "H...h...hello, M...Master?"

"Why are you stuttering my name like that, Eddie?" The Master asked, "Have you been doing things behind my back? Or hiding things from me?"

"No, Master!" He answered without hesitation.

"C'mon, I was joking, Eddie. Come to my office. I've got to discuss a matter with you. It involves...your brother."

"My b...bro...brother?"

"Yeah, Lucas. That's his name, right? Am I getting his name wrong?"

"N...no, Master."

"Just be in my office in five minutes, alright? Don't be so tensed up. We're like friends, you know?"

"Y...y...yes, Master." Eddie then ended the call and facepalmed himself.

"What did the Master call you for?" Marcus asked.

"He said it's about Lucas." Eddie sighed, "I really hope it's not about the case that happened earlier today."

Thomas, Penny, and his mother sat at the table for their dinner. On the dinner table, there are dishes of broccoli, steamed fish, fried egg, and a big bowl of soup. The three of them ate with spoons and chopsticks.

"Finally, Thomas. A day that you're not making me worried." His mother said, "Many things happened these past few days, but I'm sure glad I get to have a meal with you two."

"I'm really happy to eat meals together with my boyfriend and his mother." Penny then pointed at Mike, who is standing outside the house, "But who is that guy?"

Thomas and his mother peeked at the window and realized that Mike is standing still outside the house, looking at them.

"Thomas, who is that?" His mother asked, "Is he a stalker or something?"

"He might be." He replied, "I met him at the supermarket earlier on. He bumped onto me, I picked his name card up, and then I gave it to him and I walked home."

"So that means he followed you all the way home?" Penny asked, "Should we just report to the police?"

"Let's give him a chance. I'll tell him to scram off first. If he doesn't do that by then, we'll ring the police up."

Thomas got up from his seat and walked out of the house. He then went to Mike.

"Mr Porter, I don't know who you are, or where you are from." Thomas told him, "You followed me all the way to my home, and that's pretty creepy. Please go back to your home and do something more meaningful. I hope you don't come around my house anymore, staring at me or my family members, because that is really disturbing. I give you an hour to go away. If I still see you here after an hour, I'll call the police."

Mike just continued to be still and did not respond. Thomas waved his hand at Mike's face, "Hello, do you understand, Mike?"

Mike, yet again, did not reply, his eyes fixed at the living room.

"I take that as a yes." Thomas said before retreating back into his house.

"Did he listen to you?" Penny questioned, "Did he say anything at all?" She and his mother looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"He did not say anything at all." Thomas replied, "He just stared at you two while I'm talking to him. And he stood extremely still. Like he didn't even sway or move an inch. Just look at him..."

Just as Thomas was about to point at Mike, he had disappeared. Thomas was shocked.

"Did he run off?" His mother asked.

"He'd better." Penny uttered, "He knows we're going to report him to the police if he continued staring at us like some pervert."

Thomas leaned back on his chair. The past few days have been quite chaotic for him. Being late for class, sleeping in class, getting shot, and now a stalker following him to his home. These are all the things that he don't usually do or had not experienced before. He wondered if any more bizarre events could happen.

Jason is pacing up and down in his living room while stroking his chin. He has been doing this since he had finished eating dinner.

"What am I going to do?" He thought, "Is there a way I can hide it?"

He took a biscuit and started eating it while he is thinking. Someone then tapped his shoulder, making him jump in shock and spitting out the crumbs. He turned around and saw Kizuna.

"Kizuna! You scared the hell outta me!"

"Daddy, are you free now?" She asked, "Can I discuss about the events that happened yesterday morning?"

Jason nodded his head, "Please let me know."

"I told Thomas-chan to bring the groceries back to our home because I needed Dr Mario to fix my arm at the Robot Gathering Centre." Kizuna elucidated, "I gave him our house key, and after that, he got shot by an intruder with a tranquilizer dart. Thomas-chan was found in your room. When I came back, I took out the dart and let him rest on my bed."

"You didn't tell me you had a broken arm." Jason looked at her, "Why didn't you say it to me? I could've fixed it for you. You know I can come back from my work to fix you."

"You're in work, and I didn't want to disturb you. Anyway, the intruder broke into our house. That's trespassing, and it's a crime. We have to report this to the police."

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"We got cameras in each of our rooms, the kitchen, and the living room, right? We can use the footage to help us identify the culprit." She suggested, "We can send all these to the police, and I'm sure they'll find the trespasser in no time."

"But that guy did not steal anything, didn't he? He came into our home, shot Thomas, and then ran away. Give him a second chance. At least he didn't take anything away from us."

"Daddy, trespassing is a crime!" Kizuna exclaimed, "We should be reporting him to the police! The tranquilizer dart could've killed Thomas-chan if the dart wasn't the right weight for him!"

"Alright, alright." Jason said, "Let's take a look at the cameras. Why are you so concerned about Thomas, anyway?"

"He's my friend. My only friend."

Jason shrugged his shoulders and brought Kizuna to his room. He took out his phone and they both looked at the footage of yesterday morning. They started looking from Kizuna's room.

As Thomas is looking through Jason's room, a man hiding behind a wall outside the room took out a tranquilizer gun and slotted a dart in it. As the sun shone on Thomas, he quickly aimed the gun at Thomas and pulled the trigger.

"What was Thomas doing in my room?" Jason asked.

"I don't know." Kizuna replied. She rewinded the footage and looked at the living room this time. As Thomas stepped into the house, a man was behind him. The man then slid across the floor quietly before hiding behind the sofa as Thomas closed the door. All the while, the man's face could not be seen.

"How can a man be this fast?" Kizuna asked. She then fast-forward the footage to after the shooting. The man walked down and left the house through the main door.

"I can't recognize the face of the guy." She said, "Do you, Daddy?"

"I don't, too." Jason replied.

"Daddy, please submit this to the police." Kizuna said, "I know this guy will receive a death sentence, and I kinda hate the Master, but we can't let this intruder sneak into our house any longer. I really don't want him to die. I, too, wanted to give him a chance, but he just committed a crime, and the rules in this world..." She then sighed before continuing, "...You know what I mean, Daddy."

"Alright, I'll send it over to the police department." Jason said, "I'll see what they can do about it. Go back to your room first, okay?"

"Alright." She hugged Jason, "Good night, Daddy."

"Good night, Kizuna." He patted her head. She then skipped happily to her room. Jason lied down on his bed and stared at the sky.

Eddie came back from a long day of police work. He is tired and restless, and wants to take a nap. However, he knows he still needs to question his brother about the fighting case this morning.

He walked into the house and saw Lucas on the couch, watching a television show while munching on some potato chips.

Eddie took the remote control on the sofa and switched off the television.

"What's wrong with you?" Lucas asked irritatedly, "Why do you always have to turn the television off as I'm watching it? Are you blind or something?"

"I'm here to discuss a very important thing with you, so you'd better listen carefully." Eddie folded his arms, "You know what you did this morning. Admit it."

"Did what? I found a job and I went to work this morning."

"Don't lie to me, Lucas! You've beaten up five kids. Am I wrong to say that?"

"So what if I did that?" Lucas stood up, "All I did was teach them a lesson. They've been disturbing my employer's place almost everyday. They were rude, and were trying to beat me up."

"Report it to the police then, or at least to me!" Eddie responded angrily, "Why the hell must you go and beat the shit out of those boys? They're fucking kids, they're young, for fuck's sake!"

"Report and let me get beaten up by them with baseball bats? Are you nuts, Edd? Can you use your damn brain?"

"Beating them up is a crime! It's an assault on them! You could get the death sentence like Charlie! You're lucky the Master repaired you for free, paid your debts off and didn't give you the death sentence!"

"Because it was self defense, you fucking idiot!" Lucas shouted, "The Master, the Master, the motherfucking Master! What has he done to make you his damn dog? You're always talking about the good points of him. It's like you're sucking up to him. What good does it give you? He killed our brother. He was hanged all because he was trying to save me. He was trying to get money to pay for my treatment."

"He was a pickpocket." Eddie retorted, "He knew the rules of the world now. A person who commits a crime gets the capital punishment!"

"At least he had the heart to try and find the money to help me! You didn't even bother to ask anyone for help! You didn't even care about the two of us!" Lucas shouted back, "You've only thought of ways to praise that son of a bitch in front of us, yet he didn't help me until the last minute, when I was about to die and my arms and legs needed to be amputated! You think he's good? I think he's an asshole. What do you think will happen to those kids? He will not kill them. Trust me. He will never honor his own words. I'm done talking to you."

He then stormed into his room and locked the door. Eddie sighed and walked into his room, shaking his head.

Eddie remembered him and Charlie running to the Master when a critically-conditioned Lucas was in the emergency ward. Eddie and Charlie begged the Master to help Lucas, but the latter refused, stating that if they don't have the money, no operation would be done on Lucas.

A few days later, after Charlie was arrested for pickpocketing, Eddie went to the Master and pleaded him for leniency towards Charlie. The Master told the police officer that it is Charlie's fault for the crime, and he has to face the music for it. At this moment, with Charlie awaiting death and a badly injured Lucas in the hospital, he went down on his knees and cried in front of the Master and his workers. The Master dismissed him and told his workers to bring Eddie out. In the end, the Master did help Lucas by fixing him personally, and waiving the hospital fees.

Eddie just couldn't get it why any of his brothers could understand his pain. He did try to help them, he made an effort to help them both, but they don't seem to appreciate it. Instead, they always criticize the Master. They find fault with him. Although the Master has not helped Charlie, he has certainly helped Lucas. Eddie couldn't understand what his brothers are thinking.

Kizuna sat on her bed and looked at her phone screen. She scrolled to her chat with Thomas.

"Thomas-chan, would you like to come to my house to watch another robot movie?" After she typed that, she erased it all. She continued typing and erasing.

"Why do I want Thomas-chan to keep hanging out with me?" She thought, "He clearly has a girlfriend, and yet I keep asking him to come over to my house. He has his own life too. Could it be..."

She widened her eyes for a while before closing it, "I don't think so. I'm just excited whenever he comes. He's my only friend in this world. He's also very kind towards me, and is humorous at times. Of course I would want to hang out with him. He's such a good friend to talk to. I'm just excited for him to come over."

She then typed a simple message to him, "Thomas-chan, when are you free to hang out together? - Ai-chan" She switched on the television and watched some shows as she waited for Thomas's response.

The next morning, Lucas brought out his luggage and got out of the house. He didn't want to live with Eddie anymore. If they couldn't get along well because of the Master, then he saw no point staying.

Lucas went to the food court to work. After the previous day's incident, he's pretty sure the boys wouldn't come back to disturb him, Jacky, or the food court anymore. At least for now, until they recover from their injuries.

When he reached the food court, he saw Jacky placing the cash from the cash register into his wallet and placing all the chairs on top of the tables.

"Uncle Jacky, isn't the food court supposed to be open today?" He questioned, "Why are you removing all the cash in the cash register?"

Jacky looked at Lucas before walking to him, "Lucas, my boy, the food court is closing."

"Closing?!" Lucas was taken aback, "Did you just say closing?"

"I'm sorry, man." Jacky sighed, "The police approached me yesterday because someone took photo of you beating the teenagers. It circulated around the internet, so now everyone sees you as a bully and me as an useless bystander. My reputation is then ruined, and most of my old friends won't come to my stall now because now they think I promote violence by letting you whack the teenagers up. So, I'm closing up this food court, and you're fired."

"But then I'll have no job to do!" Lucas retorted, "And I have no place to stay too!"

Jacky then took out some money and passed it to Lucas, "Two thousand and five hundred dollars. Money is the only way I can help you now. I can't provide you a place to stay. My wife and I stay in a very small house."

"Thanks, Uncle Jacky." Lucas kept the money in his pocket, "I shall get going first."

"Lucas." Jacky said, "I just did a little research on you. You were the spotlight a year and a half ago, when the Master fixed you. Now, your brother's dead thanks to the Master too. Do you hate him?"

Lucas clenched his fists, "Of course I do, Uncle Jacky. He ruined my family."

"You know, Lucas, I hate the Master too." Jacky admitted. Lucas turned back and looked at him.

"His rules are pretty ridiculous." Jacky continued, "My son also died thanks to him. In fact, he was the first person to be slaughtered under that jerk's new rule. He also promoted buying food through the internet instead of food courts or stalls. He wanted me and my family to die."

"Didn't you riot?"

"Me? Riot? I don't have the spirit or energy to do so. My wife and I live life as it is now. But I do know one friend who hates the Master much more than you. He started a riot group, and wishes to kill the Master."

Jacky took out his phone and sent a contact to Lucas.

"Simon Costner. He's the leader of his own riot group against the Master. He got lots of supporters, and most of them get jailed up every time. I have no idea where he might be now, but you can go to his house. He lives around Garderner Street. Pay him a visit."

Lucas looked at the contact while he nodded his head.

In Thomas's house, he is about to leave for school. He closed the curtains and zipped his bag before running down the stairs to the main door. He opened it and saw Mike standing outside once again, staring at him.

"Are you..." Thomas couldn't believe it. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that they might play a trick on him, but sure enough, Mike is still standing there. Thomas stormed to him.

"Mike Porter, I have already told you to scram off. Why are you still here?" Thomas asked angrily, "If you don't leave within ten seconds, I'll call the police."

Mike did not respond. Thomas counted to ten before taking out his phone to call the police.

"Hello, police. I want to report a case." He turned around and talked, "There's this man named Mike Porter. He's standing outside my house, acting like a creep, staring at my house and my family members, and right now, he's still..."

As Thomas turned back, Mike had disappeared. Thomas was puzzled. He ended the call and looked around his surroundings to find Mike, but he is nowhere to be found.

Thomas decided to ignore Mike as he is about to be late for school. He closed and locked the main door before he went to the bus stop. When the bus arrived, he got into it.

As the bus drove off, Mike opened the curtains in Thomas's room. He looked at the bus going off before looking at Thomas's room.

In one of the police probation rooms, Simon is sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He is counting his fingers when one of the guards opened the door.

"Time for a toilet break?" Simon asked, "But I've just went to take a piss ten minutes ago. You think I can pee again without water?"

"It's not that, Mr Costner." The guard said, "You have a visitor."

"A visitor?" Simon asked, "Who can be so kind to come and see me?"

"The visitor is named Lucas Lee. He claimed that he is your friend."

Simon's eyes widened in surprise, "Lucas Lee? As in, Eddie's younger brother?"


	6. Chapter 6

A few months ago, Eddie walked into the probation room where Simon was in. The latter was being jailed for a month due to him rioting again.

"Eddie, my dear officer, welcome back." Simon smiled, "I was just wondering how you are going to entertain me today."

"I'm just going to sit her and observe you and your actions." Eddie replied sternly, "I'm making sure you don't do anything stupid."

"Aw, Eddie, why so serious?" Simon teased him, "I know it's my last week here, but don't be so sad. You'll see me very soon."

"I don't wish to see you again, Simon."

"Why? You should be sad, devastated, heartbroken that I'm leaving. You should cry tears of misery for me. Do you know what our relationship's like?"

Simon placed his hand around Eddie's neck, "We're like Batman and Joker. One cannot survive without the other. It's like eating a jelly without peanut butter. You are like the jelly, nice in its original taste, normal in your own ways. I'm like peanut butter, the extra but delicious, savory, satisfying adding to the jelly, adding the fun in."

"We're not as close as you think, Simon. You're just being delusional."

"Delusional? But I like the things you are fond of, like a bento set, bananas, the movie Weathering With You..."

"We don't love or like the same stuff. I respect the Master, while you don't."

"Now that's a different case. I said that I liked the things you love, but that doesn't mean I have a fondness of all the things you liked. The Master is one of them. I really, really, really hate the Master. Like if I could teach him a lesson, I would."

"You're like my brothers." Eddie sighed as he shook his head.

"Brothers? You got brothers?" Simon asked, "I didn't know that. You didn't tell me that."

"You don't need to know about them." Eddie stood up, "I'm done talking to you. I'll bring another officer to accompany you." He then left the room and locked the door. Simon frowned and crossed his arms.

Back to the present, Lucas and two police officers came in the probation room. Lucas sat opposite Simon while the two officers stood in front of the door.

"Welcome, Lucas." Simon said, "I didn't expect you to be here."

"You must be Simon Costner, am I right?" Lucas asked.

"Of course. The most famous rioter in this whole world." Simon proudly said, "I wonder what brings the younger brother of Eddie here. Perhaps it is to ask my opinion on your lovely officer brother."

"I'm not here to ask that." Lucas shook his head, "I clearly know what's he like. I'm just here for a casual chat. I want to get to know more about you."

"What's there to know 'bout me? I'm Eddie's bestie. I love to riot against the Master and his bunch of shitty people. I'm around my sixties. I have robotic arms and legs. Speaking of that, you're the talk of the town a few months ago, when you were fixed by the Master, aren't you?"

Lucas sighed, "I was about to die, Simon. He only helped me when I was about to lose my damn life."

"So, tell me, how did you get into the accident?"

Lucas took a deep breath and pointed at his mouth. Simon looked at him with confusion. Lucas then coughed. A small bullet-like thingy came out of his mouth and landed on Simon's pants.

"I used to be a car salesman. I got my job through a friend, who recommended me to the boss due to my public relation skills. I only sold a car. I got fired from my job." Lucas talked, "I was devastated. I lost my only source of income. With my qualifications, I couldn't get any other job. This world is just so cruel, so I went to drink. That was my source of comfort. Soon, I'd gamble. At first I thought it was dangerous, because I could potentially lose lots of money, but on the first time I went there, I won quite a big sum of money. I got addicted to it, and soon I was borrowing money from loansharks. I got caught up in my debt and I had to run away. While I tried to drive away from them as they chased me, my car fell off a cliff. The car over-flipped many times down the hill, and I was in critical condition. I had to have my arms and legs amputated due to the serious injuries I had from the accident. You see, none of these would've happened if I could've gotten another job with a good qualification. The Master has made it hard for us. Only really smart people get the good jobs. Not even a person with average qualification can get a decent job in this world."

Lucas then went near to Simon, "Because of this, you need to stand up and say that you can. You can do anything because you got the experience and knowledge. You just got to prove it, and show it to the world that you could do so much more than people think you can. So, what about you, Costner? What's your story?"

"Time's up." One of the guards announced. Lucas stood up, "I hope my story is clear and my points are concise. I'll see you soon." He and the two guards then walked out.

Simon inspected the bullet-like thingy. It is like the size of a bullet. He looked around it and found nothing strange.

Just as he was about to throw it away, he accidentally tapped it and a small portion of green acid came pouring out from one end of the thingy.

"There is acid coming out from this?" He thought.

In Thomas's classroom, he softly slapped himself in the face as he tried to concentrate during Mr Benson's lesson.

"...so, now we're stuck at this part." Mr Benson is saying, "I think you all should know the answer to this, but I'm gonna pick someone to answer the question to make sure they didn't forget how to do it. Aaron!"

As one of the robotic students stood up to answer the question, Thomas checked his phone under the table. He then saw that Kizuna had sent a message to him the night before, at ten thirty five.

"Thomas-chan, when are you free to hang out together? - Ai-chan" is what the message stated. He thought for a while before replying, "Maybe..."

"Thomas!" Mr Benson called out, "You looked like you are sleeping! What's the answer to this working?"

"Thursday!" Upon saying that, Thomas immediately covered his mouth with his hands in embarrassment as his classmates laughed at him.

"Twenty percent of six hundred and ninety two is Thursday?" Mr Benson asked with a sarcastic tone, "Wow, Mr Springfield. That's a one of a kind answer. May I ask you how you arrived to that?"

"Umm..." Thomas is frantically thinking of an answer, "You see, six plus nine plus two equals to nineteen, right? So, twenty percent of that is 3.8, and rounding that up to the nearest whole number is four."

"Oh my, is that true? If that's the case, then please tell me, what is fifty percent?"

"Well...it's gotta be Tuesday."

"What about a hundred and seventy five percent?"

Thomas took a while to think. He used his fingers to count and muttered some mental calculation to himself. Finally, after a few minutes, he was ready to give an answer.

"Friday!" Immediately, everyone except Thomas in the classroom burst into tears of laughter.

"We have an intelligent professor in the class!" Mr Benson said to the class, which prompted the class to laugh even harder. Thomas looked around and pretended to do the same too. At that point, everyone stopped, and Thomas is the only one who is chuckling awkwardly. Mr Benson then turned from laughing to giving a serious face.

"You shall stay back after class, Thomas Springfield." He told Thomas, "If you don't know how to answer elementary math questions, I shall teach you how to solve it."

Thomas sighed and leaned against his chair as he groaned.

In the afternoon, Marcus walked into Eddie's office while the latter is doing some work on his laptop.

"Eddie, I got some news for you." Marcus said to his partner.

"Leave me alone, Marcus." Eddie replied, "I need to do some work here. I'm quite busy. Some citizens have been filling in reports online on the infrastructure of their work buildings and why it looks so ugly aesthetically. I have to entertain their bullshit because no one else will."

"But this is really important. Your brother went to visit Simon in the probation room."

Eddie stopped what he is doing and looked up at Marcus.

"The guard allowed him in, and he talked with Simon for quite some time. Don't you really want to know what Lucas had said to him?"

"I will see if I have the time to do so after I finished my work."

"Do you need me to help you..."

"It's okay, Marcus." Eddie interrupted, "I'll settle this on my own. You can go and settle your own stuff."

"Alright, sure." Marcus nodded his head, "I'll leave you to your own stuff. I shall go for my lunch break. Wanna join?"

"Marcus, haven't I told you I'm busy?" Eddie asked with an annoyed tone.

"Okay, okay. Chill, Eddie." Marcus then left the room. Eddie stopped doing his work and rested his head on the table. He has been stressed lately. He really didn't know how to get along with his own younger brother. Ever since the death of Charlie, their relationship has been estranged. His late mother's wish was for the three brothers to work hard hand-in-hand and communicate well. With Lucas disagreeing with everything Eddie said, and quarreling over the matter of whether the Master is a good guy or not, it seems like it's impossible.

Eddie didn't mean to be cold towards Marcus, but the stress just got to him and it made him so frustrated. He sighed as he got up from his seat and walked out of his office.

Simon is resting in his probation room as he thought about what Lucas had said. His train of thoughts are interrupted by Eddie storming in and grabbing him by the collar.

"Why did my brother visit you?" Eddie growled, "What did you say to him? You'd better not say anything that's bad for him."

"Relax, my dear officer." Simon patted his shoulder, "He won't be swayed so easily even if I were to tell him something. He has this strong mind and stands by his own decisions and choices, and won't get swayed by anyone, including his own brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The officer screamed.

"Take a deep breath in and out, Eddie." Simon smiled, "Cool down, and don't get so worked up. Wrinkles will appear if you do. Lucas came here to have a casual chat about our lives. You know, he talked about his for quite long. Sadly, I couldn't talk about mine. So sad. After all, I just wanted to share about my life. I'm sure you've never heard about it before, have you? Do you wanna hear it, my precious officer?"

"I have no time for your nonsense." Eddie let go of Simon's collar, "I got other things to do. If I find out that you brainwashed my brother or threatening him, I will not let you go."

"No worries, Eddie. You're my best friend. I won't hurt your family members." Simon then started chuckling as Eddie left the room and locked the door.

Lucas went back to Garderner Street and went in a house. There is a group of humans and robots in the living room, taking about Simon.

"Have you heard that Simon's in jail now?" One of the humans asked.

"Just because he fought for our rights." One robot added on, "The Master has always been a dickhead. Mr Costner is speaking up in behalf of this world, because most of them don't dare whine, complain, or fight back."

"He shouldn't be kept in a stupid, small room for this." Another human said, "The Master and his dogs should take notes and change the damn rules!"

"We have to free Simon out of that horrid place." Another robot voiced out, "We need to come up with a plan to pull him out and burn that police station down."

"This is Simon's riot group, am I right?" Lucas spoke. The group turned around and aimed their guns at him.

"Who the hell are you?" The first person asked, "You're not from the Master or the police, aren't you?"

"I'm Lucas Lee." Lucas introduced himself, "I'm a friend of Simon Costner. I came here to help, not to stir any trouble."

"How can we even trust you?" A robot questioned.

"Look, I hate the Master, like all of you guys do." Lucas answered, "My life is a mess now, and nothing good ever happens to me. So, I could just riot along with you guys, and get more supporters at the same time. Furthermore, the more, the merrier."

"Would you even sacrifice your life for this?" A human walked to the front. He is five feet eleven inches tall.

"Your life will be dedicated to rioting," The man continued, "And if you're caught by the police, you'll get a probation jail sentence. One day, one month, one year, one century. You sure you can risk your life to go against the Master?"

"Yes." Lucas nodded his head, "Yes, I'm sure."

"Alright then, welcome to the team." The man shook hands with Lucas, "My name is Jericho."

Lucas shook hands with Jericho and smiled as he thought, "I will force Simon to riot again. Then, he will be caught and will be given the death sentence since he broke the laws by breaking out of the probation room. I'll take this opportunity to lead the group and kill the Master before I take his position."

At night, Thomas and Penny are eating dinner alone. The former's mother went out for her friend's birthday party.

"So, how's school today, dear?" Penny asked. Thomas replied with a chicken nugget in his mouth, "It's fine."

"Your examinations are next week. Have you prepared for it yet?"

"I'm reading and revising on my work after school in the library." Thomas replied, "I understand most of the topics, but there are some I don't get it at all."

"Well, that's good." Penny then looked at Thomas, "By the way, I want to hang out this Thursday. Our university's closed for that day due to the canteen's renovation."

"Well, I know that it's closed, but Thursday?" Thomas asked, "Why Thursday? I thought you are having your student council meeting for Teacher's Day? Did you quit it?"

"Me? Quit? Nah." She then explained to him that one of the student councilors needed some time to settle his family issues, and thus the meeting was postponed. I want to spend some time alone with you and I want to relieve your stress before your examinations."

"I see." Thomas nodded his head, "You really don't have anything else on Thursday?"

"Hmm...let me think..." Penny thought for a while before talking again, "Oh yeah, the parent-teacher conference. But..."

"But what?"

"But my parents don't care about me anyways. They don't give a shit if I'm alive or not. They restrict me in everything, and grounded me in my room for coming back from a party too late. They don't want me to enjoy my life. They want me to suffer."

"Penny, your parents did this for your own good." Thomas retorted, "You know girls that are alone in the night are more prone to getting molested, rapped, or kidnapped by some guy. They're just worried for you."

"Enough said, Thomas." Penny uttered, "Don't change my perspective of them. All I want to do is to spend time with you and your mother."

"Speaking of that, I'm meeting a friend for a school project on Thursday." He lied, "We need to discuss about it together and submit it before examinations start."

"Are you for real?" Penny asked, "Can't you change the date or something?"

"My lesson ends late tomorrow, and he has to go to his family dinner, so I can't hang out with him afterwards. We can only do so on Thursday, and we have the whole day to finish it. Please, Penny. This is counted in my final year examinations. You don't want me to get low marks, don't you?"

Penny sighed, "I can't force you to come if it's your school project, can't I?" Thomas smiled and kissed her cheeks, "Thanks for understanding. I promise I'll go out with you after my examinations. Besides, going out before it might affect my mood for studies, won't it?"

"If you say so." Penny then started eating. As Thomas is crunching a carrot, he thought of how he had just lied to her. He had to, because he wanted to meet Kizuna. He had already promised her to meet her, and he couldn't let his own girlfriend know because it might trigger her. He mustn't let Penny discover his lie at all.

Jason is lying down on his bed, looking at a picture he took with a woman and a girl. He smiled at it before he turned sad.

As he placed it back on the table and closed his eyes, the photo frame dropped onto the floor. He groaned and opened his eyes as he tried to reach the frame with his hand without moving from the bed. Out of the blue, a hand picked it up and handed it to him.

He looked up and saw a woman. Not just any woman, but it is the woman from the picture.

"Chantelle." Jason is taken aback as she sat on the bed and smiled at him.

"How's your day, my sweetheart?" She asked with a gentle voice, "You don't look so good."

"It's been fine, Chantelle." He replied, "I've been so busy with work. People love giving me trouble. No worries, though. I won't let anyone suffer the same fate as you and Alexia anymore."

Chantelle held his hand and looked at him, "I might have not said anything about this before. Don't do anything that makes people dislike you, you understand? I don't want my husband to be a man hated by everyone."

"I got it all under control, Chantelle." Jason assured his wife, "You don't need to worry about me." He smiled at his wife and she did the same.

The thunder then roared and rain stared pouring down from the sky. Chantelle stood up and let go of his hand, "I've got to go now. I'll see you later."

"Got to go?" Jason asked, "It's raining cats and dogs here. You should stay here and sleep with me. That way, you'll be safe from all the trouble."

"Jason, I can't stay. I really got to go."

"But...you just came. I don't want you to disappear ever again. I really, really, really missed you, and all I want is you to be by my side. Even if it's for one night, I would gladly be with you."

She looked at him and beamed, "I will always be in your heart. All you got to do is to think of me. I will see you later. I love you, Jason."

Jason quickly got out of bed, but tumbled onto the floor. He tried to stand up and move forward, but he couldn't do so. He felt like he was restricted to the ground, but he didn't care. He couldn't let his wife leave him again. He tried his best to move again, but he can only watch her open the door.

"Chantelle! Come back!" He cried as she left the room and closed the door.

"Chantelle!" He screamed and broke into tears afterwards. Kizuna rushed into his room and squatted beside him.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She shook his body, "Are you okay? Are you fine? Are you injured?" Jason then hugged her while he sobbed. She softly caressed his head with her hand, "It's okay, Daddy. I'm here."


	7. Chapter 7

It is raining cats and dogs outside. Every once in a few seconds, there would be thunder sounds.

Jason sat on his bed while Kizuna sat on a chair beside his bed.

"So, Daddy, who's that woman you called out?" She asked curiously, "The woman named Chantelle?"

Jason looked at her, "She was my wife. We had a daughter named Alexia. We lived together happily for 2 years, before they were murdered." He sighed before continuing, "I guess I saw her in my dream earlier on. I miss her so much. I miss my daughter too. I miss them both."

Kizuna looked at him as he looked down and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Daddy, I know I can't help you much with your personal matters." She said, "But, if you need someone to be by your side, to listen to your problems, to comfort you in bad times, you can come to me. I am a robot built by you, but you treat me like your own daughter, and a daughter is supposed to help her father. I'll try my best to understand your problem."

"Thanks, Kizuna." He smiled and hugged her. She then looked at him, "Daddy, do you need me to sleep with you for the night? The same thing might happen again, you know."

"I appreciate the good thought, but I don't think I need it." Jason patted her head, "Good girl. Go to sleep. I'll be fine on my own."

"Alright, then. Good night, Daddy,"

"Good night, Kizuna." He replied. She then went out of the room. Jason laid on his bed as he looked up at the sky and thought about his wife.

"She appears in my dreams today."  
He muttered to himself, "I do miss her, and I wish to see her. But is that just it? Why does she tell me what she told me?"

The next morning, Penny went to the living room to take her breakfast. She still found it strange that Thomas has a project to finish before his examinations. She knew him for a very long time. He will not start or do a project at the eleventh hour. He's always known to be punctual in his homework and project submissions, at least. In her life of studies, she knew there was no way a teacher would give a project just days before the examinations.

As she ate, she turned to her right and saw Mike outside the house again. She is convinced he is actually stalking them. She stopped eating and went out to see the man.

"What do yo want, mister?" She asked angrily, "You've been here a few days ago. I thought my boyfriend told you to scram off. Why are you here again?"

"I see." Mike nodded his head, "You're rude and especially loud. I've noted that down."

"Rude? Loud?" She raised her voice, "What do you mean by that? And what do you mean you've noted it down?"

"I shall get going, miss." Mike bowed, "I'll see you next time." He then turned around and walked away.

"Come back, you fiend!" She shouted, "Come back here so that I can stitch your mouth!" By the time she finished saying that, Mike had completely disappeared from her sight.

"Strange." She thought, "Did he just come here to note down that few lines?"

Mike hid behind the walls of another house and whipped his phone out. He called the contact named 'Master'.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line asked.

"Master, I found out about Thomas's girlfriend and what she's like. May I ask what's the point?"

"Well, you'll find out soon. Anyway, come to my office. I got things to talk to you. It's about shooting Thomas with a tranquilizer dart."

"Yes, Master. I'll be right over." Mike then ended the call and walked away from the house.

In Thomas's class, Ms Holland placed the students into groups of three. Thomas is grouped with a male and a female.

"Class, since we are learning about the history of this world, we also need to know people have different opinions about it." Ms Holland stated, "As such, today, you are going to interview some residents about the history of this world in your groups. Each group will be given the houses to go. Be back by five. Note that you can't switch to another group. If I find out, you'll get your marks deducted. Understood?"

"Yes, Miss Holland." The class replied in a sombre tone. Most of them aren't too happy with their groupings, and that includes Thomas. He is teamed up with the class's nerd, Jane, and the class's jock, Andrew.

Thomas disliked the both of them. For Jane, she's an extremely introverted person, and does not talk to anyone except her teachers. She's always either reading a textbook, storybook, or a dictionary. Ironically, her Science results are always pretty horrible.

For Andrew, he acts very arrogant in front of his peers. A cocky guy, he keeps showing off his muscles to anyone and everyone. They aren't that big anyways, but he still loves to flaunt like it's some humongous muscles. He's so bad at studies nobody in the class can beat his high score of getting a big, fat zero in an exam paper. Even the stupidest student, which is a robot, got at least a digit for his marks.

Thomas sighed. He is definitely going to be the one doing all the talking. Jane ain't saying a word, and Andrew will only talk about his masculinity.

A flying car is given by the school to each group to drive around the city to interview. They must return the car at the end of the day without any damages.

Thomas and Jane got onto the back seats while Andrew sat on the driver seat and drove the car.

"Yo, guys, look at those muscles while I'm driving." Andrew said.

"Ew." Thomas voiced out in disgust as he shook his head, "Can you stop showing off for once? We need to get to the houses and finish our job."

"Chill, Thomas. I know you're one of the smartest guys in our class, but this is not a competition to see who completes it fast. We don't need to rush. We can take out sweet time. We got until five in the evening, don't we?"

"But..." Thomas tried to talked back, but Andrew interrupted him, "Even if we finished it early, we're just going to sit in class and do nothing except looking like idiots. We might as well roam around before we complete our task."

"I like that idea." June uttered, "I don't mind roaming around. I didn't bring my books, so I have nothing to read anyways."

It became quiet for a while before Jane spoke up again, "I got an idea. Why not we do our job first, then we roam? We get the job done fast, we get more free time."

Andrew stopped the car at a corner, turned back, and looked at the class nerd, "Jane, I have never ever heard you talk so much before, much less give a good suggestion. Fine, we'll follow your plan, because I like it."

"The nerd and the jock agreeing." Thomas smirked, "Unbelievable."

Andrew drove to the first house and parked the car outside the gate. He then knocked on the gate as the other two students came out of the car.

"You're not supposed to knock the gate, Andrew." Thomas said, "You're supposed to press the doorbell."

"That's what normal citizens do." Andrew retorted, "But it's different from me. I'm buff, so I definitely need to show off my muscles. I need to show these people living in the house the capabilities of my muscles."

"You're really obsessed with your muscles, aren't you?" Jane asked.

"You know, nerd, no one can get such a perfect body shape like me." Andrew told her, "I need to flaunt it to let..."

"Okay, Andrew. We get it." Thomas then pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the owner came out.

"Hello, I am Thomas Springfield," Thomas introduced himself to the owner, "And these two are my group mates, Jane and Andrew. We are here today to interview you about the history of this world. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Sure, come on in." The owner pressed a button on the controller he is holding onto, and the gate opened inwards. The trio then went into the house.

They sat down on his sofa as he sat down on a chair.

"Jeremy Thompson." The man said, "Just call me Jeremy."

"Alright, Jeremy." Thomas nodded his head in response, "What do you know about the history of this world, and how do you feel about the world currently?"

"The history...I don't think I know much, but I shall just say what I learned back in third grade. My parents told me Hideki had allowed robots and humans to communicate together. Hideki had spent a few years trying to get both races to get together and be harmonious with each other. I heard it took a full sixty years, from an age of twenty two until eight years after he retired. By then, he was eighty. I heard the first Master position is decided by robots and not humans as humans will consider many things like their own well being, greediness, and selfishness. Robots are just straightforward that time, so it's more fair to let them vote. After that, Hideki announced that the Master position will be passed down to his son, and his son will pass it down to Hideki's grandson, and so on. Like, the person holding the position would pass it down to their son. Hideki was Master for fifty years. The second Master took over for forty years. The third Master took over for thirty six years before he died out of a sudden heart attack. The fourth Master, which is the Master now, took over for five years only. That's all I know about history. I'm feeling kinda indifferent about this new Master. I know all these controversies following him. Five death sentencing cases within five years sounds like a big deal. However, he does not concern me. I just live a normal life. I wake up, go to work from nine to five, come back home, take my dinner, do my own stuff, and sleep. Today's the exception, because today is my wife's death anniversary, so I didn't go to work. I don't really care about the Master now."

"Alright, thank you, Jeremy." Thomas shook hands with him, "Thank you for allowing us to interview you today. Hope you have a nice day."

"You too." Jeremy smiled as he led them out of the house.

Lucas and the group of protestors are inside the house where the protestors gather. They are thinking of ways to free Simon from jail.

"Some of us are going to drive some vehicles and break into the police station." One man said, "Then, the others will barge in and knock everyone done before we take the keys from the guards and get Simon out."

"That sounds like a bad idea." One robot uttered, "The police guards are armed with high end weapons. There's no way we can defeat them with our bare hands, even if we're robots."

"Do we have any good guns then?" One female questioned, "Sword? Knife?"

The robot shook his head, "We didn't create anything. We don't have a gunsmith or anyone who creates weapons."

"It's okay, guys." Lucas took out a bullet and placed it into the gun barrel before reloading it, "This is all we need. We can..."

"Hey, guys." A guy in a suit and tie walked in, "I heard the riot group that is working with Simon is here."

"Who the hell are you?" Jericho asked.

"Don't be so surprised." The man said, "My name is Aaron Powell. I'm a businessman who hates the Master. And I've overheard your conversation about breaking Mr Costner out of the police station. I can provide the vehicles and weapons needed."

"How can we trust you?" Lucas asked, "How can we be sure you're not from the police department?"

"Because I gain no benefits when I lie." Aaron replied, "If I'm working for the police, why would I provide you materials to destroy the city? The Master and the police don't want their buildings destroyed, don't they?"

Jericho went to Lucas and whispered in his ear, "You think this guy's reliable?"

"Let's try it." Lucas replied in a soft voice, "I got a way to get rid of him if he ever betrays us."

Jericho nodded his head and looked at Aaron, "You're in. You sure you can provide the materials?"

"Sure. Buses, cars, weapons, you name it." Aaron responded. Lucas then cleared his throat, "I shall continue to talk. Since we have vehicles and weapons sponsored by Aaron, the plan can go on. Listen carefully, because I'm sure that if everyone follows my plan, Simon would be able to get out safe and sound."

In the evening, Thomas, June, and Andrew finally got all the interviews done. Although the latter two had planned to relax after all the interviews, they had instead slacked in between them. The trio went to get some ice cream, played some arcade games, and Andrew even went to swimming for an hour and a half, while Thomas and Jane watched.

As Andrew is driving, he is still talking to his teammates about his muscles.

"Do you know that I've developed it during my younger days, just when I was eleven?" Andrew asked excitedly, "My father was this buff lord. He used to carry dumbbells weighing sixty kilograms! He looked so awesome, and that's when I decided to learn to lift weights!"

"Alright, but we're not really interested in your muscles, Andrew." Thomas said, "Would you just drive us back to the uni, then we can return the car and go home?"

"Now I'm known to be a professional driver!" Andrew ignored Thomas, "And I'm about to show you how skilled I am in drifting!"

Andrew pulled the parking brake lever and turned the steering wheel with force. Suddenly, the steering wheel broke.

"Holy shit...oh, no no no no!" Andrew threw it out of the car. The car then hit a lamp post and it immediately stopped.

Andrew rubbed his forehead and groaned in pain. The other two groaned in pain too, coming out of the car.

"Andrew, why did you have to do that?" Thomas asked, "You've just wrecked the damn car! Now we need to take taxis home!"

"Well, it's not my fault I'm strong!" Andrew retorted.

"You know what, Andrew?" Thomas asked angrily, "I'm done with you flexing your muscles. It's getting really annoying. I will be taking a taxi back home and you will explain what exactly happened to the car. Best of luck repaying for the car."

He then walked away. Jane decided to follow Thomas while Andrew leaned against the damaged car and scratch his hair in frustration.

Lucas slanted in Simon's sofa in the latter's home. Jericho had given Lucas the house key since Simon's not staying in anymore, and Lucas does not have a house to live in since he left Eddie's house.

He is still thinking of how to lead the group into killing the Master before taking the position. He needs to consider that the group wouldn't want to free Simon again even after he would be jailed for a century. Making Simon get caught is one problem. Getting him to stay in the probation room and await for death punishment is another. Thinking of how to kill the Master is one more.

Lucas had planned to free Simon two days later, when the prisoners would be having their breakfast in the canteen. He hoped his plan wouldn't fail. If it does, it is all over for him. He will get into the probation room, and he will see his brother. A person he hates to the core now. He'd rather die than to see Eddie again. He then sets an alarm on his phone and went to sleep.

The next morning, Thomas woke up from bed and stretched his arms before getting out of bed. He took a bath and went out of the room. Penny, who was asleep, opens her eyes immediately. She got out of bed and secretly followed Thomas from a distance.

Thomas grabbed two slices of bread and stuffed it into his mouth before chewing it. He then wore his sneakers and walked out of the house.

As he is walking, Penny followed her boyfriend. She is unsure of where he's going, but she's certain he's not going to do some project work. He didn't even bring a single pen or pencil with him. He brought nothing except his phone and himself. As for her clothes, she is wearing pajamas. She did not care, though. She is more interested in where Thomas is walking to.

He stopped in front of a house and knocked on the door. Penny hid behind a bush and peeked from there.

Kizuna opened the door and smiled at Thomas before letting him in and closing the door. Penny clenched her fists in anger.

"So, you've been seeing this robotic bitch behind my back?" She thought, "Thomas Springfield, you're going to get it." She then walked away from the house.

In Kizuna's room, she and Thomas sat down on her bed.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Thomas-chan." She smiled at him, "I'm glad I could meet you today."

"Me too." Thomas replied, "I'm sorry for not coming over lately, Ai-chan. I had lots of work to do, and my girlfriend has been holding me back."

"I understand."

"By the way, Ai-chan, I know you have a good relationship with your father. You're not his biological daughter, yet you two are very close. Most people aren't even close with their domestic robots. How are you and him have such a loving relationship?"

"You know, when Daddy first built me, I was supposed to be normal like the rest of the robots in this world." Kizuna explained, "But he told his friend to make me look like a human. I was supposed to call Daddy my Master, but he told me to cut the formalities and call him Daddy instead. He taught me how to have human emotions, how to understand humans, how to interact with humans and robots alike, and so on. He treated me like his own daughter. He treats me really well, and despite his busy work schedule, he never fails to spend time with me and take care of me. I really, really, really love him. He's such a good man."

"I see." Thomas nodded his head, "Ai-chan, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the amusement park. I don't know if you've been there before, but it's really fun. I want to make up for the time we did not meet."

"Sure." She beamed at him. For the rest of the day, they rode roller coasters, went into a haunted house, and eat candy floss. They didn't take so much attractions because of the long queues, but they enjoyed themselves.

In the evening, Thomas brought Kizuna back to her house.

"I guess I'll be going back soon." Thomas said to her, "I don't want her to complain again about how I always came back late."

"Sure." Kizuna opened the door to her house, "We'll meet next week, I guess?"

"Hopefully." Thomas then waved goodbye and walked off.

"Thomas-chan!" Kizuna called out. Thomas turned around and saw her running towards him. She then hugged him.

"Thank you for today." She uttered, "I really enjoyed myself today, and I enjoyed being with you. Can we do this more often when we meet up?"

"Alright." Thomas patted her head. They both smiled at each other and waved goodbye to each other before Thomas went off. Kizuna went into her house and sat on the sofa.

Although Thomas is not her boyfriend, he always made her feel happy, even when he is just talking to her. She enjoys being with Thomas, and spending time with her made her feel like the happiest robot in the world. She kept telling herself that she does not like Thomas romantically, and that she sees him as a good friend.

Someone then knocked on the door. Kizuna looked through the peephole and saw Penny standing outside.

Kizuna opened the door, "May I ask who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Thomas." Penny said, "May I know where he is?"

"He just left."

"You must be the female robot he visits often." Penny said, "May I talk to you for a while? About him?"


	8. Chapter 8

Kizuna let Penny into the house. Kizuna suspected that Penny might just be a random person wanting to do something evil and might not be Thomas's friend, but she'd wait and see how it goes.

"So, tell me." Penny asked, "Why would Thomas visit you? What have you said to him that makes him want to meet you?"

"I just asked him if he wants to meet up, that's all." Kizuna replied.

"I really want to see what's so good about you." Penny looked at the female robot, "You seem like a normal robot. A dog to its master. You don't seem so pretty at all. You don't sound seductive too. I really don't know how Thomas wants to spend time with you instead of me."

"Who are you, exactly?" Kizuna asked. At this point, she was confused about why Penny is asking so many questions. Unfortunately, she does not know who Penny actually is.

"You'd like to know? Fine, I'll tell you." Penny walked near to Kizuna, "I am Penny, Thomas's girlfriend. And I hate the two of you hanging out together."

"We are just friends, Ms Penny." Kizuna retorted, "We are nothing more than that."

"Look, Kizuna, I don't know what you're plotting, but you'd better leave my boyfriend alone." Penny growled, "I don't want you anywhere near him. I should be the one spending time with him, not you."

"But he's my only friend!"

"Then go find some other friends! Leave Thomas alone! He is mine, and mine only, not yours!"

"We are only friends, I swear..." Kizuna is interrupted by Penny, who slapped the former's face.

"You can lie to me, but you can't fool me." Penny glared at Kizuna, "If I ever see you meet Thomas ever again, I'll make sure you'll never see him again." She then stormed out of the house. Kizuna sat on the sofa and stared at the front with a feeling of sadness.

At night, Thomas finished showering and sat on his bed. He is wondering why Penny was so quiet throughout dinner. Usually, she would talk to him or his mother about her daily stuff, be it her personal problems or daily news. Today was an exceptional case. She was so quiet he could hear the crickets outside of the house.

As he is thinking about it, Penny came into the room and went to her wardrobe.

"Hey, Penny, are you okay?" He asked. She just ignored him and continued to find for her pajamas.

"Dear, please talk." Thomas begged, "I don't know what kind of problem you might be facing right now, but we can talk it out and I can try to help you."

Penny turned to Thomas, "You lied to me, and you act like nothing's wrong."

"Lied? Did I?"

"Stop denying. I followed you this morning." Penny said, "You lied to me just to see that fucking bitch. Am I considered your girlfriend or not?"

"Look, Penny, I got a reason..."

"What reason could you possibly give? I don't want to hear it anyways." Penny told him, "All I know is that you lied to me. I'm your girlfriend, Thomas Springfield. How could you do this to me? You are mine. You are my boyfriend. You are not that stupid pink ass bitch's boyfriend. You reflect on yourself before talking to me again." She then went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Thomas sighed. He knew he screwed up this time, and he owes her an explanation. He waited for her to finish bathing while he thought of comforting words to say to his girlfriend.

When Penny exited the toilet, he went to her.

"Look, Penny, I'm sorry I lied to you." He apologized, "I know it's my wrong to do so. I hope you'd forgive me, and hear my reason out."

Penny looked at Thomas, "Alright. Tell me your reason then. I want to hear it."

Thomas took a deep breath, "I promised Ai-chan that I'd meet her on Thursday. I kept it from you because I know you won't allow me to go visit her. But I can assure you we are just friends."

"You already knew I was going to get angry, so why did you go ahead and see her?" Penny questioned, "Is she your girlfriend or am I your girlfriend?"

"Penny, we are just friends. She seems like a really cool and interesting friend to socialize with. She has no friends except me. I can't just let her be alone."

"So you sacrificed our time to be with her?" Penny asked, "You should know better. A girlfriend would get angry and jealous when her boyfriend talks to another girl. Are you that dense to understand? Don't you understand me enough? We've been together for three years already. You should know me best. I don't like my boyfriend getting close to another girl."

"Alright, alright." Thomas held her hands, "I know you're worried I'd leave you. I won't, Penny. I love you so much. I promise I won't visit her a lot, okay? I will spend more time together with you."

Penny smiled and hugged Thomas. He wrapped his arms around her body and smiled at her too.

In Kizuna's room, she is sitting on her bed, thinking about what Penny had said to her earlier on.

"If what she said is true, then how can I meet Thomas-chan again?" She thought worriedly, "I was really excited for him to come again. Now, if he does, and she finds out, we will be separated, and we can never be friends. Can I really bear to let go of Thomas-chan?"

She looked at the picture she took with Thomas when they were in the amusement park in the afternoon. Both of them are grinning, especially her, who is beaming. She then thought of all the times she had spent with him. All those happy, joyous, cheerful moments. She wanted to have a friend throughout her life. She wanted to make more memories with him. She wanted to stay by his side. All that seems impossible now, as Penny comes into the equation.

She sighed and placed the photo into her wallet, "I guess I will have to be alone with no friends again. I'll suffer just for him. Even if he's a distance away from me, I'd be happy just looking at him, knowing that he's fine." She leaned against her pillow and stared at her front.

The next morning, Simon was led to the canteen by two guards. The other protestors who were caught are already in the canteen, eating their breakfast.

"Here's your meal." One of the guards passed him a slice of bread with a cup of water and an apple. Simon took the apple and started eating it.

As he is chewing it, he thought about how he should use the acid. Lucas must had gave it to him for a reason.

He turned his head to the left and looked out of the window. He noticed a school bus stopping outside the gate of the police station.

He then saw Jericho coming out of the bus with a rifle, followed by other protestors. The police guards are notified of the people outside through their walkie-talkies.

"Alright, guys." One of the guards shouted, "We are sending you back to your probation rooms. We have intruders coming, so we'll put you back in your rooms, while we deal with the people outside."

The two guards assigned to Simon led him back to his probation room. They pushed him into the room and locked it.

"I shall go and take a look outside." The first guard told his partner, "You shall take care of this outlaw."

"Sure. Stay safe." The second guard said before the first one ran off. Simon took out the bullet-like thingy and looked at it. He thought of what Lucas had said to him a few days ago.

_"Because of this, you need to stand up and say that you can. You can do anything because you got the experience and knowledge. You just got to prove it, and show it to the world that you could do so much more than people think you can."_

Simon immediately came up with an idea. He went to the door and tapped the bullet-like thingy near to the door. The acid came out instantly and came into contact with the metal part of the door. The metal melted within seconds, and the metallic liquid flowed down all the way to the ground.

Simon slowly opened the door using the hole on it. The guard was unaware that Simon had just opened the door and continued to look at the front.

Simon ran to his front and smacked the bullet-like thingy on the guard's forehead. The guard screamed in agony and pain as the acid went all over his face. Simon took the gun from him and shot him on the head.

"That's a disgusting sight." Simon looked at the dying guard before running away from the room.

The alarms were sounded off right away. Eddie, who is doing his work, groaned as he stood up from his seat and grabbed a pistol.

Lucas and a few other protestors stormed in the police station. The security guards tried to attack them, but they fought back.

Lucas saw a security guard advancing towards him with a gun. Lucas took out a small revolver and shot the guard on the face. As soon as the bullet touched the face, acid started coming out of it, spreading rapidly over the face. The guard fell onto the ground and screamed in pain as he rolled around to stop the acidic discomfort on his face. Unfortunately, he died a few seconds later.

Lucas ran into the station and tried to find the control room. He planned to release everyone from this hellhole and leave this ace afterwards. He knew, from Eddie, that although the probation rooms each ahve a key to unlock the room, the police station has a control room that can open every room with some buttons.

He then saw Simon running towards him.

"You finally knew what to do." Lucas patted his shoulder, "Get to the bus outside. I'll get the rest of them outside soon."

"What about your brother?" Simon asked, "Won't he find out about what you're doing right now?"

"I'll solve that on my own." Lucas replied, "Run to the bus now, before any more policemen catches you again."

Simon nodded his head and ran towards the entrance of the station. Lucas continued walking forward to find the room.

As he is looking around, he saw officers with shields, guns, and batons coming towards him. Lucas aimed his revolver at the officer at the front and shot him on the head, ensuring a death.

The others who are not carrying a gun ran forward and charged at Lucas. The officers holding a gun stood still and tried to shoot Lucas.

He quickly hid behind a wall and reloaded his gun. As one of the officers with a baton is about to hit Lucas, the latter dodged and whacked the former's face with the barrel of the gun. Lucas poked the officer's eye with the hammer of the gun and then snatched his baton. He whacked the officer with the baton.

Two of them, who are using the shields, rammed Lucas with it. Lucas got up and jumped over the guards with his robotic legs.

As soon as Lucas touched the ground, he struck the back of one of the officers' head repeatedly. Lucas then kicked the other officer's shield away and shot him using Lucas's gun.

Lucas turned to the first officer and did the same. He took the shield and the baton with him and kept his gun. He then walked towards the last two officers. They tried to shoot him, but he blocked the shots with the shield. When Lucas got close enough to the officers, he whacked one of them on the head with the shield.

The second officer tried shooting him, but Lucas used the baton to hit him. Lucas took the gun from the first officer and shot the second officer until the bullets ran hard. Both the officers died. Lucas took the second officer's pistol and continued to search for the control room.

Simon ran into the school bus as some of the protestors outside are shooting at the officers. Simon took a seat behind and heaved a sigh of relief.

"This is very exciting, isn't it, Mr Simon?" Aaron went to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Simon asked, "If you're a police officer, I swear..."

"He's with us." Jericho entered the bus, "He's the one who provided us the weapons and this bus. However, the wheels are shot by the officers, so now it's punctured and all we have left is a bus with flat wheels."

"Damn, how are we supposed to go back to our place then?" Simon asked.

"Aaron, can you call for more cars?" Jericho asked.

"I doubt so. My phone ran out of battery and now I can't call anyone unless I am able to charge my phone."

"It just has to be this timing." Simon grumbled, "You know what? Screw it. We're going to walk there. On the way, we can protest and let the whole world know the Master's a piece of shit."

"I see no issue with that if you don't." Jericho added on.

Lucas ran into the control room and locked the door before looking at the control panel. There is a glass window above it to look at all the rooms from the control room. He is unsure of which buttons to press to release all his other protestors.

There are so many buttons to choose from, yet he had little time to figure out. He used his palms to tap on some buttons a time. The lights turned on and off, the air conditioner went on and off, and the doors of the probation rooms was open and closed. Lucas knew one of the buttons he pressed is the one to free all. He tried every button until he heard loud unlocking sound.

He looked through the glass window and saw the protestors running out of their rooms. The police officers guarding the rooms saw them getting out and decided to fight them to stop them. Lucas smiled at the mayhem he caused. He then heard someone trying to get into the control room through the locked door.

A few seconds later, Marcus unlocked the door and went in. He saw through the glass window and stared with disbelief at the amount of prisoners fighting the officers. As he is about to staring, Lucas closed the door and aimed his gun at Marcus's head.

When Marcus turned around, Lucas instantly pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit Marcus on the forehead. Marcus fell onto the floor and died on the spot as the acid from the bullet spread across his face.

Lucas then thought of what to do now. He can either leave the room and run away, or he wait for his brother to come to the room and then kill him.

He could run away potentially, but Eddie might have seen him at any point of time while he did all these, so he might be a criminal if he let his brother survive. On the other hand, shooting his own kin is a sin, and he will be wanted for murder, but nobody will know what Lucas had done, since Eddie will be killed and no other officers had seen him too as all of the officers he had came into contact with is slaughtered by him.

Eddie had just been done fighting some protestors that had escaped from the probation rooms. Eddie had seen Lucas in the control room from the glass window earlier on as the latter was pressing buttons.

Eddie decided to run to the control room to see if Lucas is still there. He can stop his younger brother from doing more mistakes. He had one question though. Why is Lucas here? Is he helping the Simon and the protestors? Has his hate for the Master grew so strong he decided to join Simon? Eddie hoped not.

When he reached the control room, he opened the door and got a fright. He gasped in horror as he saw Marcus's dead body on the floor. It had seemed that the skin protecting Marcus's head was gone, leaving only the bones.

Eddie gagged at the horrific sight before whipping out his phone. Lucas then took out the police pistol he got earlier and jumped out from behind the door. He then shot Eddie seven times at the legs and arms, making the latter drop his phone and fall onto the ground.

Eddie tried to crawl to his phone, but Lucas kicked it away from him.

"Lucas, how...dare...you..." Eddie groaned in pain. Lucas looked at him, "You deserve this, Eddie. All the times you sided with the Master. You're never helping me and Charlie. Ever. I became like this thanks to the Master. And you kept supporting him. I'm gonna kill him, take over his position, and then show the citizens what a real Master is like."

"Don't...do...more crimes..." Eddie muttered, "Turn...back...now...You...still have...a chance..."

"Never." Lucas reloaded his gun, "And I'm not keeping you alive. You'll report me if you survive. I have no choice. You won't be missed."

He then shot Eddie on the head thrice, killing him on the spot. Lucas took a look at the two dead bodies once more before walking out of the police station.

Jericho went to Lucas and told him that the bus's wheels are out of air, so now they have to walk all the way back to Garderner Street. Considering the distance, Lucas agreed to walk because it is not so far away.

Thomas is getting ready to the supermarket. He needs to get his ice lemon tea drink before he goes to school.

He walked into the supermarket and took the bottle before going to the cash register. He then saw Kizuna placing a cabbage into a plastic bag of groceries. She then turned towards the exit and saw him.

"Hey, Ai-chan." He smiled. She ignored him and walked away. He took his bottle and ran after her.

"Hey, Ai-chan." Thomas caught up to her, "Why are you walking so fast today? It's unlike you."

She turned around and looked at him, "Go away. I don't want to see you again."

"What do you mean you don't want to see me again?" Thomas asked, "What's with that sudden change of heart?"

"Don't bother asking." Kizuna replied, "Just leave me alone." She then ran away.

"Ai-chan!" He ran after her. They ran to the roadside, where the riot group is walking past, shouting 'Fuck the Master!'. Thomas lost her in the big crowd of protestors.

"Why did she run away from me?" He thought. He couldn't figure it out at all. They were having so much fun the previous day.

Kizuna turned back to see if she had lost Thomas. She is relieved upon not seeing him. She never wanted to run away from him, but she's scared that Penny might see it and take him away from her forever.

She then bumped into three protestors; one humans, and two robots. They looked at her with annoyance.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" One of the robots asked angrily.

"Do you even have eyes?" The other robot added.

"You dare bang into us! You deserve a beating!" The human shouted at her. The trio pushed her down to the ground and started beating her up as she screamed.

"I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" Kizuna cried loudly, "Please stop beating me!"

Thomas stopped walking when he heard someone scream. He recognized it. It is Kizuna's.

He pushed past the other protestors and saw three protestors punching Kizuna while she tries to protect her face with her hands.

"Don't injure her!" Thomas ran to her and blocked the three protestors from beating Kizuna up. She looked up and got a shock.

"Thomas-chan!" She is surprised he came over to her rescue.

"Trying to be the hero, young man?" The first robot punched his face. The other robot then kicked him in the stomach and the man pushed him down onto the floor. The three of them then started kicking his body.

"Thomas-chan!" Kizuna tried to push the three protestors away, but to no avail as she is weak. Jason and Mike then came with a few other robots. The robots pushed the three protestors away and started fighting them.

Jason ran to Kizuna, "Are you okay, Kizuna?" She nodded her head and pointed at Thomas, who is unconscious now, "Thomas-chan is injured. Please help him, Daddy."

"I will." He then looked at Mike, "Mike, bring her to a safe place, will you? I'll bring him to James."

"Yes, Jason." Mike answered.

"Will Thomas-chan be okay?" Kizuna asked worriedly, "Is your friend trustable?"

"Watson is a trustworthy person. He'll help me heal Thomas up." Jason responded, "Now, follow my friend. Stay safe. I'll meet you later." He then carried Thomas and ran off. Mike held Kizuna tightly and ran off in the other direction as the riot group came to help the three protestors.

A few minutes later, Thomas woke up on a sofa in an office room. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Jason talking to a man.

"...thanks so much for helping me, James." Jason told the man, "Without you, the boy might still be in a critical condition, and my daughter will be severely injured."

"No worries. Anytime, Master." James bowed before walking out of the officer. The word 'Master' has caught Thomas's attention.

"You're awake." Jason walked to him, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, but why did that guy call you Master?" Thomas asked, "Is he your domestic robot?"

"Thomas, I'm going to let you on a secret." Jason sighed, "Only a few know." He straightened his blazer before continuing, "Remember that time when you were in my room? And that someone had shot you with a tranquilizer gun? That was Mike."

"That creepy man?" Thomas asked, "The guy who stood outside my house?"

"Yeah, I ordered him to. Because I didn't want you to know my identity yet. But I'm convinced. The prison outbreak and the riot group made me change my mind. I need someone to help me take care of Kizuna as I'm busy dealing with people, and you are the perfect candidate."

"Wait," Thomas pointed at Jason, "So...you are really..."

"Yes, Thomas." Jason admitted, "I am what you think I am. I'm Hideki's great grandson, and I'm the current Master of this world."

Thomas was taken aback by Jason's words.


	9. Chapter 9

Mike brought Kizuna to her house as she told him to do so. She let him into the house and allowed him to sit on the sofa. Mike kindly refused and stood all the way.

"I can see that you're very concerned for that male friend of yours." Mike said to her, "He's your friend?"

"Close friend." She replied.

"A close friend, I see." Mike nodded his head in response. Kizuna leaned against the sofa she's seating on.

"Mister, if I care deeply for this guy, and I enjoy to be with him, talking to him, but yet I can't survive without him?" She questioned.

"Then you must have liked the guy romantically." Mike replied.

"I thought so too." Kizuna realized that she had unconsciously developed feelings for Thomas. Throughout the times she had spent together with him, she found joy and happiness like never before. It can almost match up to the happiness her father gave her.

She kept telling herself that she was just excited for him to come because he is just a friend, but now it's obvious to her that she likes him. She loves to talk to him, loves to watch movies with him, and loves to be with him. Yet she can't bear to leave him alone, or live without him. He has become a big part of her life that it's hard to let go of him. She, however, had no choice. Penny had threatened her to take Thomas away from her if she ever talks to him. She couldn't bear to be fierce to him or ignore him, but she is willing to do so because she likes him. She's rather watch him from a distance than to lose him. She would do anything for Thomas.

"If there's nothing else, I shall go and check on Jason." Mike bowed before going out of the house. Kizuna sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Thomas, I'm going to let you on a secret." Jason sighed, "Only a few know." He straightened his blazer before continuing, "Remember that time when you were in my room? And that someone had shot you with a tranquilizer gun? That was Mike."

"That creepy man?" Thomas asked, "The guy who stood outside my house?"

"Yeah, I ordered him to. Because I didn't want you to know my identity yet. But I'm convinced. The prison outbreak and the riot group made me change my mind. I need someone to help me take care of Kizuna as I'm busy dealing with people, and you are the perfect candidate."

"Wait," Thomas pointed at Jason, "So...you are really..."

"Yes, Thomas." Jason admitted, "I am what you think I am. I'm Hideki's great grandson, and I'm the current Master of this world."

Thomas was taken aback by Jason's words.

"Thomas, you should learn some manners." Jason talked, "Have you learnt privacy? Don't go into anyone's room without their permission. It's very rude. The door's closed, so all the more you shouldn't go in. But you still did, and you checked my stuff. Also, you've heard my conversation behind the kitchen wall, didn't you?"

Thomas was surprised, "How did you..."

"When Kizuna startled you, I heard your voice. That's when I know you're there listening."

"So since you're the Master," Thomas said, "Let me ask you a question. Why did you come up with that rule? That's one ridiculous rule. You made most of the world hate you for life."

Jason sat down on his chair before crunching on a cookie, "Once I'm done with eating this delicious cookie, and drinking my milk, I'll tell you."

Thomas rolled his eyes. After eating and drinking, the Master stood up and looked outside the big glass wall.

"I'll tell you about it soon, so listen to me very carefully, because I'm going to say it once." Jason explained, "I used to be a police officer. At that time, my father, who is the grandson of Hideki, was still the Master. You know how crimes were famous back then? Well..."

**Ten years ago...**

_Jason and his police partner reloaded their gun while they sat with other police officers in the police van._

_"Yo, Coleman, you think the victim gonna be alright?" His partner asked him, "I heard on this operation, there are gangsters with knives and guns. Do you think we'll be able to save the girls?"_

_"Pretty sure, Gabriel." Jason patted his shoulder, "We went through so much training. Surely this one is not so serious."_

_"Bringing down the criminals are one thing, Jason. What about saving the girls? What happens if the criminals kill them before surrendering? It'll be considered a failed mission to us."_

_"Why are you having such low confidence? Did you forget who we are? We are the damn police force! We have always brought the bad guys down and protected the innocent from harm. This time would be no different. We've done so many cases successfully, so this one should be a breeze."_

_"But..."_

_"No buts, if_ _s_ _, ands, ors. We will definitely be able to do it. We must believe in ourselves. If we keep being frantic, we will lose focus easily. The world's counting on us."_

_The van then reached a warehouse. The police officers ran out of the van and reloaded their pistols before sneaking in._

_Jason and Gabriel hid behind a stack of wooden boxes. They heard two men talking and muffling noises from the kidnapped victims._

_"Once their fathers give us the ransom, we shall kill them and take one girl each for ourselves." One man said, "So, you'll take the short-haired girl and I'll take the long-haired girl." The girls then muffled._

_"I'll be getting the long-haired one." The second one retorted, "I was the one who kidnapped her. I should have the honor to claim her."_

_"But I'm the one who guarded her while you went to get the other one. I deserve her."_

_As one of the police officers was about to shoot one of the men, many men appeared from the back and started to shoot the policemen. The policemen shot back at the men. The two men then took out their guns and stood beside the girls._

_Jason pointed at one of the men, while Gabriel pointed at the other one. They both nodded their head once before standing up. Gabriel tried to shoot the second guy while Jason ran forward and fought with the first guy._

_Jason kicked the first man at the stomach, making him stumble onto the boxes. The first man got up and threw some boxes at Jason, but most of them missed. Jason carried him and slammed him onto more wooden boxes._

_Jason then quickly went to the long-haired girl and untied her. He also took off her gag and brought her to the police van._

_"Stay here." Jason told her, "We'll be subduing the guys in no time." He then ran off to fight the first guy._

_Gabriel was freeing the second woman. He had just left the ropes securing her hands together. As he was trying to untie, the second guy pushed him away and wrestled him to the ground._

_Jason twisted the first guy's hand to his back and kicked the back of the latter's knees. Immediately, the first guy fell down on his knees while he screamed in pain. Some police officers went to him and handcuffed him._

_Jason then turned to his left and saw Gabriel getting strangled by the second man on the floor. Enraged, Jason rammed his body against the man, sending the both of them flying towards the wall. Gabriel quickly got up and continued to untie the short-haired woman._

_Jason and the man stood up and started to fight physically. The former tried to kick the latter's face, but he blocked. The man then punched Jason on the jaws twice and pushed him away. He took out a gun and aimed it at Jason._

_Jason realizes this and started grabbing onto the hands of the shooter tightly. The man tried pushing Jason away once again, but he never once swayed. Jason then kicked the gun away and whacked the man on the face._

_The man did a roundhouse kick on Jason and then booted the latter in the stomach. Jason got up slowly and saw the man reloading the gun. He ran towards the man and tried to snatch his gun. The man resisted and pushed Jason away. The man gripped the gun and aimed at the police officer._

_Jason wasn't ready to give up, as he pounced on the man. A gunshot was then heard. Jason looked around and saw the gun was facing not towards him, but towards his left. He have a horrified expression as he turned his head to the left and saw the short-haired woman fell onto the floor. More police officers then came in and surrounded the woman and the man._

_At night, Jason is sitting outside the police station, sitting on a bench. He was devastated that he did not saved both victims. He can't believe that he had been trained relentlessly, and yet he couldn't save a life._

_The long-haired woman from earlier came to him and sat beside him._

_"Hey, you must be Officer Jason Coleman." The woman talked, "I...just want to thank you for saving me just now. I would've died if you and the police force weren't there."_

_"I didn't save the other woman." Jason sighed, "It was your sister, wasn't it, Ms Pang? Aren't you supposed to be angry?"_

_"Angriness won't bring her back to life." She replied, "You didn't let her die on purpose. And, you saved me. Better to have one survivor than none."_

_"I really don't know how to make it up to you, Ms Pang." Jason looked down on the floor, "I'm really, really sorry for your sister's death."_

_"Well, if you're that sorry, you can take care of me for life." She suggested, "My parents are dead, and now my sister, who lives with me, is also killed. That leaves me in the house. If you were to take care of me, I'm sure my sister would rest in peace. She wouldn't be relieved if no one takes care of her little sister."_

_She then smiled at Jason._

**Back to the present...**

"...and so, I took care of Chantelle." Jason told Thomas, "Soon, I fell for her, and she did too. We got married and had a daughter. Our daughter is the cutest girl I've ever seen in my life. We spent so much time together as a family. I often took leave from my work to be with them. Sounds like a very perfect family life, doesn't it?"

"It does." Thomas responded, "But what happened to them?"

Jason stopped for a while to drink his milk, before continuing.

"I wish it was perfect all my life. Have you ever heard of the saying 'nothing lasts forever'? Well, that represents my situation..."

**Eight years ago...**

_Jason was getting ready for work. Chantelle carried their baby daughter, Alexia, and went to him._

_"Say goodbye to Daddy." Chantelle told Alexia. The baby high-fived her father. Chantelle then placed Alexia on the couch and hugged her husband._

_"Be safe at work." She said to him, "I know your job is to keep this world safe, but it's also your job to keep us safe."_

_"I will." He then kissed her on the cheeks, "I'll see you tonight, dear." She smiled and did the same thing to Jason. He then went off for work._

_In the evening, as Jason is getting ready to pack up and go home, Gabriel came to him._

_"Hey, Jason!" He called out. Jason turned to him and waved his hand._

_"Damn, you haven't returned for a long time." Jason said, "Where have you been?"_

_"Taking care of my family." Gabriel replied, "I only come on some shifts. My wife just gave birth to a baby boy a few months ago, so I took time off to take care of them. I came back here today because I told my wife I missed my police work, especially cracking jokes with you."_

_Both of them laughed at that._

_"What case did you do today?" Jason asked him, "We're not police partners anymore, so I wouldn't know what case you had done."_

_"Today...a robbery case. The crimes in this world never stops, does it? Every two to three days, some crime happens."_

_"Yeah." Jason nodded his head, "I really wish we could like, you know, stop the crimes from happening ever again. I really want to stop it. It's good for family men like you and me."_

_"Speaking about family, how's yours? It's going really great, isn't it?"_

_"Oh, hell yeah! My daughter has grown up to be so cute and pretty, and my wife's expecting another child!"_

_"Congrats, my man!" Gabriel slapped his ex-partner's back, "Another child is on the way! You do that thing really well, don't you?"_

_"Of course! That's why she likes it."_

_Both of them laughed once again._

_"You know, Jason, we've never seen each other for quite some time." Gabriel said, "So why not join me for a drink? Caleb, Grover, and Sean will be there too."_

_"But I need to spend time with my daughter and my wife." Jason reasoned._

_"Jason, we haven't see each other for so long, man. You see your wife and daughter every day. I'm also sacrificing my family time to be with my friends for one night. Just one night, Jason."_

_"But you know I don't drink. At all."_

_"You can be there to talk with us. C'mon, Jason. I'm only asking for tonight. Would you join us? For old times' sake."_

_Jason sighed and called his wife. After a few seconds, he ended the call and nodded his head. For the next four hours, Jason and his friends talked about their lives in the pub while the latter four drank beer. They laughed and joked a lot._

_After the meetup, Jason got into his car and drove away from the pub. While he was driving, his phone beeped. He checked it, and a notification popped out, stating 'Urgent alarm is raised'._

_"Urgent alarm is raised?" Jason thought, "No way, it can't be..." He went to the alarm app, and sure enough, the screen is blinking red, indicating that someone broke in._

_"Chantelle..." As soon as he thought about his wife, he stepped on the accelerator and drove as fast as he can back home. He then called the police to assist him._

_Once he reached his house, he got out of the car and saw some policemen and two body tents outside of his house. He ran to them._

_"What happened here, Ian?" Jason asked._

_"Residents have reported to us that there had been some loud noises from this house." One of the policemen told him, "No one answered the door when we came. Instead, we found some dead people."_

_"Dead?!" Jason asked, thinking about Alexia and Chantelle, "May I take a look at them, Ian?"_

_"They're police evidence, Jason." Ian replied, "You know the rules. We can't let you see while you're not on duty. However, we believe the woman is either the owner or a resident of of this house."_

_"I'm the owner of the house." Jason said, "That may be my wife and my kid. Can I please take a look?"_

_Ian sighed and nodded as he led Jason into the scene. He opened the body to let Jason see the bodies. Upon looking at the then, Jason knelt down in front of them and started crying uncontrollably. It was revealed that the two are Alexia and Chantelle._

_A few days later, a heartbroken Jason attended the court meeting, where he was told by the jury about the murderer of his wife and daughter. Chantelle was killed as she was running away from the killer. Her throat was slit and she had six stabs on her body. Alexia was stabbed on the head with a knife by the same guy. The jury then announced, "I shall herby declare the murderer, Lim Chong En, to be jailed for 17 years for the murder of Chantelle Pang and Alexia Coleman."_

_"Wait, jail term only?" Jason asked angrily._

_"Is there any problem, Mr Coleman?"_

_"17 years? This motherfucker killed my loved ones, and all he get is a fucking jail sentence?!" He stood up and shouted furiously, "Shouldn't he get a death sentence? My wife and my daughter's fucking gone thanks to this fucking heartless cunt! Why isn't he getting the death sentence?! Why?!"_

_His shouting turns into crying as the guards went to Jason and brought him out of the courtroom._

_Jason, unable to take the deaths lightly and the increasing number of crimes, clenched his fists and started punching the ground as he screamed in agony._

**Back to the present...**

"...so, as soon as I became the new Master five years ago from now, I made the new rule."  
Jason said, "I can't let anyone suffer the same fate as my wife and daughter. I can never let murderers and killers run scot-free with just a jail sentence. People shouldn't lose their family like how I did."

"But because of this, many people found you unfair." Thomas replied, "There's been protests and riots about it, stating that the law is ridiculous."

"At the same time, family members of the victims are happy with it." Jason retorted, "Thomas, when you do a job like this, not everyone would be pleased with what you're doing. You can never make everyone happy. Only some."

"One more question. Why did you make Ai-chan?"

"Kizuna? Well, my daughter died, and I wanted to take care of a girl so much. I didn't want to adopt, so I went to my friend James. Unfortunately, he couldn't make humans, thus we created a robot with human features to make her look like a human. I trained her to have human emotions so that she could be like a real girl. I know it makes me sound like a bad man, saying that Kizuna is a replacement for Alexia, but I really love Kizuna a lot from the bottom of my heart. She gave me a chance to be a loving father again."

"She loves you too." Thomas said, "She told me that she has a close relationship with you."

"It's true." Jason responded, "Which is why now I can't bear to leave her alone. I don't want her to be hurt physically or mentally. That's why I'm appointing you to take care of her."

"Wait, what?" Thomas asked, "I haven't said yes yet."

"I know you will do it, seeing that you have a close friendship with her. You won't leave her in the lurch, won't you? You've got yourself beaten up to guard her earlier on, which shows you will go all out to protect her."

"Fine." Thomas sighed, "I'll do it."

"Thanks, Thomas." Jason patted his shoulder, "And don't ever tell anyone that I'm the Master. Not even Kizuna. Understood?"

Thomas nodded his head in response. Mike then went into the office and bowed down in front of Jason.

"Master, I have came back." Mike reported, "Kizuna-san is safe and sound."

"Thank you, Mike." Jason uttered, "Go and do your own stuff now." Mike bowed again and went out of the room.

"I'll add your face to the face recognition system." Jason told Thomas, "That way, you can check on Kizuna at times."

"Sure." Thomas replied.

In Garderner Street, Lucas, Simon, and Aaron gathered in Simon's house, talking about their next plan.

"So, where do we strike next?" Aaron asked, "Our aim here is to convince the Master to change rules, am I right?"

"Yes, you are." Lucas acknowledged, "So, we're going to riot at one of the most famous places in this world. The second police station. We've taken down one of the two police stations, and we need to destroy the other so that there would be no officers to stop us. And then we'll conquer the Master and force him to change."

"I agree with you." Simon added on, "The Master has made me suffer. Not only did he not find the culprits that disfigured my body, he didn't seem to care at all after that, or to find out more about it. The reason I'm in this pathetic, robotic state is thanks to him! He must suffer, then he'll understand the pain!"

Aaron switched on the television to cool the tension down, but when he switched over to the news channel, the reporter started reading out the news.

"This is an urgent announcement from the Master: Simon Costner has broken out from jail, and he can be a dangerous threat. Any citizen that sees him can call the police hotline right away. The citizen can also win a million dollars just for surrendering him to the police or called the police to talk about his location. When Simon is caught, instead of giving him the century jail sentence, he will be sentenced to death. We hope that everyone would cooperate and make this world a safer place."

"We really got to do it." Simon growled, "Quick and fast." Lucas smiled at the news, "Looks like I'll be getting my chance very soon."


	10. Chapter 10

Jason brought Thomas to the former's home. Upon hearing the door open, Kizuna came down from her room and saw Thomas. She rushed to him.

"Are you alright, Thomas-chan?" She asked worriedly, "Are you badly injured anywhere?"

"I'm alright, Ai-chan." Thomas assured her, "Look at me now. I'm fine. I'm alive and kicking."

"You two have a nice friendly talk." Jason said, "I shall be going to my room to rest." He then retreated to his room and closed the door.

"So, uh..." Thomas tried to start the conversation, but Kizuna just cut him off, "I got other things to do. You can leave now."

"What's with you?" Thomas asked, "Why are you asking me to get away from you and leave? What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Kizuna walked up the stairs, "I just want you to leave me alone. Let me be."

"There must be a reason to this. Why are you locking me out of your life now? A few days ago, we were happy together. Remember?"

"Just go away." Kizuna glared at him, "Get out. This is for your own good." She then went into her room and locked the door.

"For my own good?" He asked, "What good is there? What have I done wrong? I won't know until you tell me, Ai-chan!"

No response. Thomas sighed, "Alright then. I shall leave you alone. I'll come around next time." He then left the house.

Kizuna looked from her window and saw Thomas walking away from her house. She feels guilty of chasing him away, but it's best for him and her to be separated from each other.

Penny is in her classroom, listening to her teacher talking about math. As soon as the bell rung, the students got up from their seats and ran out of the classroom to go home Penny switched her phone on and saw the news that Simon and the protest group have broken out of jail. Fearing that Thomas might be endangered by them, she quickly called her boyfriend.

"Hello?" Thomas answered the call.

"Hello, Thomas?" Penny bombarded him with questions, anxiety in her tone, "Are you okay? Are you safe? Did the protestors hurt you or anything?"

"Penny, I'm fine." Thomas replied, "I'm okay. I'm safe. And the protestors didn't hurt me."

"Thank heavens you are alright." Penny heaved a sigh of relief, "Do you know how worried I was when I saw the news?"

"I do. You can be relieved now."

"By the way, do you want to eat lunch together?" Penny asked, "I'm in school, and I've just finished my lessons."

"I'm eating alone. I'm not in school. I'm at home." Thomas lied, "I was stuck in the supermarket when the protest group was walking past. I couldn't attend lessons, so I might as well head home to study instead."

"Alright. I'll packet my lunch home to accompany you. I'll see you at home."

"See you." Thomas then ended the call. He slid his phone back into his pocket and continued walking down the sidewalks.

In the late afternoon, Jason and Mike, among other police officers, placed flowers in front of Eddie's grave.

"He was a professional police officer, and an awesome man." One of his friends said, "He took his job and friendships seriously. He never once slacked during work time, and in turn his effort had been paid off when he was promoted to Commander. When he's with his friends, he treats them with kindness and respect. He was always a helpful guy, helping anyone in need. He never went back on his words, and does what he had promised. He was truly a great man. We all hope that he rest in peace."

All the officers bowed down. Jason and Mike did the same. A few minutes later, the latter two returned to Jason's office.

"Still no news of Simon or his henchmen?" Jason asked. Mike shook his head, "Negative. Ever since they escaped, they have disappeared."

"Report to me about the status of the police station that Simon was in."

"Most of the officers died either due to gunfire, or acid burning." Mike explained, "James is still finding out about the type of acid used. As from the surveillance cameras, a thin figure entered the control room and released all the protestors. He couldn't be seen properly because he's always looking down. He was the one who killed Eddie Lee and his partner Marcus. This person has also killed five other officers."

"Find out who this guy is, and then if we manage to catch him, he's going to jail. And, send some people to Garderner Street to find Simon. He might be there."

"Yes, Master." Mike bowed before walking out of the office. Jason stood up and went to find James.

James is in his laboratory, doing some science experiments to find out the acid stored in the bullets.

Jason knocked on his door, and James turned around.

"Master!" James greeted him, "Are you here to find out about the acid?"

"Yes, I am. Have you found out what it is?"

"Yea, Master. According to my experiments, this person placed hydrofluoric acid in the bullets he used. It makes the skin of the face dissolve until there's nothing left but bones."

"James, do you have an idea of why this person would do it?" The Master asked. James shook his head, "Unfortunately, I can't answer the questions, for I'm not a psychic or a mind reader."

Jason nodded his head in response, "Have you been making more robots?"

"Two hundred and fifty six are in queue now." James replied, "Any special requests?"

Jason shook his head as he thought about who the murderer of Eddie could be and his intentions on killing the officer and releasing the protestors.

In Garderner Street, Aaron bought four big trucks to be delivered to Simon's doorstep. He, Simon, and Lucas, together with the protestors, are about to raid the second and last police station. Simon gathered the protestors in his house.

"Okay, so this is the plan, people." Simon stated, "We will all go in with weapons. Swords, guns, knives. Whatever. We'll kill many police officers there to show rebellion. Only then will the Master change if we destroy all his useful resources. Am I right?"

The protestors roared in agreement.

"So, try to take down as much policemen as you can." Simon continued, "Every little contribution by each of you adds up to a lot. Even if you die, you die proudly, knowing that what you had done will change the world, and it'll be better for your family and friends! Remember, we're fighting for our loved ones, and our future generation!"

"Does Simon usually give talks like these every time?" Aaron asked Lucas, "Because it kinda makes me yawn."

"I have no idea." Lucas shook his head, "This is my first time too."

Simon, Aaron, and Lucas took the first truck, while the rest of the protestors take the other three trucks. They then drove off.

A few seconds later, some police cars arrived at the street. Mike and some police officers got out of the cars and went to check each of the houses. A few minutes is only needed as the policemen couldn't find the criminal they are looking for.

"Simon's not here." One of them said, "What should we do?"

Mike looked at the police officer, "I'll tell the Master that he isn't here. We'll search all the places he usually goes. Where else could he have gone to?"

"According to this list," Another took out a paper, "The nightclub, the pub, the restaurant down at Shropshire Street, and his late mother's house."

"Looks like we have to get to lots of places today." Mike said, "We'll split the search and we'll meet back at the second police station after we're all done. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir Mike!" The officers then got into their cars and drove off. Mike got into his car and drove off too. At this moment, a guy watching that whole scene from his house took out his phone and messaged Simon.

"So, Simon, you said briefly about why you hated the Master." Aaron said to Simon, "Do you mind telling us the full story of why you're pissed off at him?"

Simon sighed, "It started a few years ago. It was when the new Master took over. I was going to nightclubs, trying out new drinks. In one of those clubs, I met a pole dancer. She was pretty kind to me. We got along quite well, and would always meet up after work. We usually talk about our lives, and after that, I fell for her."

"Wow, so cliché." Lucas shook his head.

"I'm not done. So, I confessed to her. But here's the catch. She's taken. So we just became friends. But we became best friends, and we hung out a lot. I guess her boyfriend wasn't super happy, because he confronted me outside the nightclub one day. He had told me not to get close anymore. I mean, I thought he won't be doing anything serious, so I shook it off. So after three months of hanging out with her, something horrible happened. While I was walking back home from the nightclub, a gang came up to me in an alley and started whacking the shit out of me. I managed to run away for a while and called the police. They found me out and continued to beat me up. They...cut off my limbs and hands, and ran away when they heard the police sirens. The Master and the police officers couldn't find any clues on the gang as there were no CCTVs installed, so the case was closed. My human hands and legs are replaced with robotic hands and legs. This is really unfair for me, because I could lead my life as a normal human, but those jerks ruined it, and they couldn't be found. For them to escape in a world with a strict rule, that is some fuck. The Master just gave up on my case. That's why I'm exacting revenge. I didn't have my body parts replaced for fun."

"I see." Lucas nodded his head, "What about yours, Aaron? Why did you hate the Master?"

"He caused my father to lose his job." Aaron replied, "He committed suicide, and I was left without a father, or a complete family."

"So we all got reasons to get rid of the Master." Simon commented, "Let's get rid of the police station, and make sure he change that stupid rule of his. Then I'll go and kill him for trying to give me a death sentence."

A few minutes later, they reached the second police station, along with the three other trucks.

Simon took out his phone and shook his head.

"What's the matter?" Lucas asked. Simon showed him the message. It stated that Mike and some officers had visited Garderner Street, and now is searching Simon in places he had been frequently before. They'll then gather back in the police station the protestors are about to raid.

"We have to do this fast, yet swift." Simon said. He then went to the front of the protestors.

"We can't screw this up, as there would be some police officers coming here later." Simon told them, "We need to be quick, but we also have to be careful. Any shit happens, we're all dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" The protestors shouted. Aaron quickly passed them some pistols, shotguns, and knives.

"Let's get in." Simon said. The protestors barged in and started shooting some officers down. Simon and Lucas ran up to the control room.

"Is there any protestors stuck in the probation rooms here?" Simon asked. Lucas shrugged his shoulders and pressed a button, which opens all the probation room doors. Humans and robots came out of it and looked around before escaping. Lucas knew which button to press from his previous encounter in the control room of the first police station.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Simon pushed open the door, and found themselves surrounded by police officers.

"Simon Costner," One of the officers said, "Surrender yourself. You and your accomplice here have nowhere to run anymore."

"Nowhere?" Lucas asked, "I don't think so." He then shot one of the officers with his gun loaded with acid bullets and shut the door. The other officers tried shooting through the door.

"What the hell are we gonna do, man?" Simon asked, "We need to get out of here quick. Before Mike and his officers arrive."

Lucas looked around for solutions until he saw the big glass window in front of him. He turned to Simon and pointed at it. The latter shook his head and mouthed 'No', but Lucas decided to go through with it anyways.

He took out his gun and shot the window. One shot to the left, one to the right, one to the center, one to the top, and one to the bottom. After a few seconds, some parts of the glass starts to dissolve.

"Can't you break the glass with a chair or something?" Simon asked, "Why must you shoot?"

"The glass is very strong, and using a chair to break it will take us time." Lucas replied, "We're living in a modernized world. The officers don't want us to escape, so they build all these hard stuff around us. These bullets I shot; they contain hydrofluoric acid, just like the bullet I gave you that time. The acid dissolves the glass faster, and then..."

Lucas took the chair and whacked the glass. Sure enough, the glass broke. Lucas pulled Simon and they both jumped out of the window as the officers opened the door.

Lucas and Simon went under the room and into the hallway.

"You go to the right." Lucas told Simon, "I'll go to the left. We kill every police officer in sight."

"We stick together." Simon said, "We can eliminate officers at a faster pace."

"Fine." Lucas moved to the left with Simon at the back. More police officers came out with batons.

Lucas ran forward and shot two of them down. He then took one of the batons and whacked the others.

Some policemen advanced towards Simon with guns. They started shooting at Simon, but he blocked it with his arms.

"Well, at least bullets can't hurt my hands and legs." Simon thought, "One advantage of having robotic body parts."

He charged forward at the constables, all the while guarding gun shots with both his arms. He then punched one of them in the face and another on the balls.

Simon took out a knife and slashed one officer's throat. He stabs another in the heart, before taking his gun and using the officer as a shield from the bullets.

Lucas did a roundhouse kick on a policeman and shot him on the stomach. He then took the pistol from the policeman and shot the latter on the head.

Simon shot down the last officer in his way. Once that last man is dead, he hacked the throat of his human shield and pushed him onto the floor.

Simon then ran to Lucas and helped him by shooting the officers. A few minutes later, the two are able to get rid of all the officers in their way.

"Holy, that's a lot of motherfuckers." Simon huffed and stopped to catch his breath, "See, my idea is awesome. Working together really fastens up this process."

Lucas shook his head. He felt that it is the same as splitting, just that Simon helped a bit in the last part. Both of them went out of the police station. A few protestors and Aaron are waiting outside.

"Quickly, get into the truck." Aaron said, "We can discuss about what you guys did later back at home."

Simon and Lucas hopped into the truck. They then drove off. The other three trucks followed. A few seconds later, Mike and the other officers came to the same police station.

"Have you guys found Simon?" Mike asked the officers. They all shook their heads before one of them pointed their finger at a dead security guard.

"Someone must have been in here." Mike stated, "Let's get in."

At night, Jason is in his room, sitting on his bed while he is talking to Mike on the phone.

"So, you're saying Simon raided the other police station too?" Jason asked.

"Yes, Master. There seems to be another guy with him. His name is Lucas Lee, brother of Charlie Lee and Eddie Lee. I've looked at the footages of the surveillance cameras. His figure seems to be present in both footages."

"Alright, I'll take note of it and will see what I can do about it tomorrow." Jason replied, "Make sure to continue finding him, and charge the high end weapons. It's time we end Simon Costner and his nonsensical group of people." He then ended the call.

He went to Kizuna's room and knocked on her door.

"Come in." She said. He stood at the door, "You seem quite moody today, Kizuna. May I know why?"

"Nothing, Daddy."

"Don't tell me it's nothing. You don't have no period. You're a robot. Something must've made you upset. By the way, I saw you telling Thomas to get out in a not-so-nice way. Why did you do that?"

"That's personal, Daddy. I don't want to say it out."

"But, Kizuna..."

"Daddy, please. I'm feeling as sad as it is. Could you leave me alone for the night, please?"

Jason sighed, "Alright. Good night, Kizuna."

"Good night, Daddy." Kizuna said back before he closed the door. She then lied down on her bed and stared at the sky with a look of sadness.

The next morning, Thomas went for a walk in the park. He needed to get some things off his mind. He also thought about Kizuna. How did her attitude towards him changed so drastically? Why did she become rude to him all of a sudden? They were having so much fun together a few days ago, now she's so cold.

As he is thinking about it, he bumped into someone. He lost his train of thoughts and immediately apologized. To his surprise, it is Kizuna.

Upon looking at him, she quickly walked past him. He turned around and went to her front.

"Please, Ai-chan, we can talk this out." Thomas pleaded, "Tell me where I did wrong, and I would try my best to change."

"Just leave me alone." Kizuna glared at him, "I've already told you yesterday that this is for your own good." She then walked past him once more. Thomas then held her hand.

"Ai-chan, you can't just ignore me for no reason!" Thomas retorted, "If you don't tell me anything, I will never understand why you're so pissed at me!"

She turned around and pulled her hand away, screaming at him, "Please just fucking leave me alone!"

Thomas kept quiet and looked down. Suddenly, Kizuna got on her knees and buried her face in her hands, "I can't take it anymore, Thomas-chan. I can't."

"What are you talking about?" He is visibly confused. Kizuna invited him to sit on a bench and she sat beside him. She explained to him about the reason she ignored him.

"Penny is behind this all along?" Thomas asked. Kizuna nodded her head. She stood up and bowed down in front of him, "I'm sorry for being so harsh to you, Thomas-chan. I didn't want you to be taken away from my life. You're such a good friend. I don't want to lose you."

"I know." Thomas hugged her, "I promise I'll talk to Penny about this, and it won't ruin our friendship. Trust me on this, alright?"

She wrapped her hands around his body and laid her head on his shoulder as she smiled, "I trust you, Thomas-chan."

From a distance, someone is watching from afar. The person had their fists clenched.

During midnight, Kizuna is in her room, grinning from ear to ear after spending her day with Thomas. They talked a lot, and explored their neighborhood before watching a movie. After that, they parted ways, promising to meet up the next day. She then stayed at home and ate dinner with Jason.

She's finally happy that she could talk to him again. She no longer needs to hold it in anymore or listen to Penny. She's confident Thomas would change Penny's mind.

Kizuna then heard a sound from the living room. She walked down the stairs and saw nothing. She went to the door and opened it to see if anyone knocked on the door. She then left the door to close.

She was about to walk up the stairs when she heard footsteps. She turned back and Penny immediately appeared in front of her. She jumped up in surprise and fell back.

"You stupid motherfucking bitch." Penny growled, "How dare you not listen to me! You dare to try and take my boyfriend away from me! If I don't kill you today, my boyfriend will eventually get stolen!"

Penny held the knife she was holding up high as Kizuna screamed in fear.


	11. Chapter 11

A few hours before, in the evening, Thomas went back to his home after spending time with Kizuna. He hung out with her from the morning to the evening. They talked, explored the neighborhood, and even watched a movie together. After that, Kizuna had to go home to cook dinner for her father. They promised each other that they'd meet up the next day.

Thomas is glad that Kizuna is not angry at him, and he can finally talk to her normally again. All he wants to do now is to sit down and have a talk with Penny.

As Thomas entered his room, he saw Penny sitting on his bed, her arms crossed.

"Penny." He said. She looked at him and stood up, "I thought you promised me you won't see her again? Why did you do it?"

"How about I ask you something?" Thomas angrily replied, "Why did you threaten Ai-chan? You really think you can bring her away?"

"Why can't I?" She retorted, "She's ruining our relationship, Thomas. Are you too blind to see that?"

"Why are you always like that?" Thomas raised his voice, "Every girl that I talk to and be friends with, you must do something bad to them. The first girl; you smacked her on the face with a pie. Made her cry, and stop being friendly towards me. The second girl; you beat her up, and she stopped talking to me. The third one; you poured hot water on her, made her face scalded, and she left the school and never said a word to me again. Now you threatened Ai-chan. They are, or were, only my friends. What's wrong with you? Is this my life or your life?"

"I'm doing this all for us. For our future, Thomas!" Penny screamed, "All those girls are all head over heels for you! They need to know they can't mess with my boyfriend, because there's me! I'm driving them away! They are evil beings!"

"So what? When I go out to work next time, are you going to murder my female colleagues?" Thomas asked, "Put them in a body bag and let them float on the ocean? You still don't trust me after three years. Three damn years, Penny. No matter how many times I say I'm true to you, and will only belong to you, you still chased my female friends away. Do you think my life have to revolve around boys only?"

"Why can't you see I'm doing this for us? For our relationship? You think those girls won't hurt us? They will! They want us to be torn apart so that they can be with you!"

"That's because you think too much!" Thomas shouted at her, "You're so caught up in your own fucking mind that all girls are going to steal me away! How do we protect our relationship if we don't have the fucking basic trust at all?!"

Both of them kept quiet for a while, before Thomas spoke up, "Since you don't trust me at all, there's no point carrying this relationship on. Let's break up."

Penny looked at him with teary eyes.

"We will never be happy if we continue to be together." Thomas continued, "With your over-controlling personality, there's bound to be lots of fights like today in the future. We won't suffer anymore if we break up. You won't have to worry about any more girls. I won't have to worry about my friends getting threatened again."

"No, Thomas." Penny held his hand while sobbing, "Please stay with me. You know I can't live without you. I promise I'll try to get along with the robot. Please..."

"I've given you enough chances, and you wouldn't change." Thomas pushed her hand away, "Break up is the only option left. You can continue to live here, and sleep here. I'll sleep in the living room."

Thomas then stormed out of the room. Penny knelt down and started crying. Her hands then turned into fists and she stopped crying.

"I'll never ever let that bitch win me." She thought. During midnight, Thomas is sleeping on the sofa in the living room.

His mother then went to him and shook him, "Thomas, wake up."

Thomas flipped to the other side and continued sleeping.

"Wake up, you lazy pig." His mother hit his shoulder until he woke up.

"What is it, Mum?" Thomas groaned as he rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Son, did you have a fight with Penny a few hours ago?" She questioned, "You two are like screaming so loudly."

"Mum, we are fine." Thomas lied, "Couples always quarrel." He didn't want his mother to worry about his romantic relationship, but little did he know she is already worried about something else.

"Thomas, as I was about to sleep, and you were asleep, she stormed out of your room angrily." His mother told him, "When I asked where she was going, she told me she's going to do some business."

"Could it be..." Thomas thought upon hearing it, "She had another meaning when she said 'Bring me away from her', didn't she?"

Suddenly, it all made sense to him. Thomas got up immediately, "I have to go get her now."

Back to the present, Kizuna dodged Penny by rolling to the right. The former then got up and took a pan.

"Step back!" She screamed. She is a robot, but she does not know any techniques, or how to even fight.

"You think a pan could scare me?" Penny laughed, "A pan won't save your damn life. After today, you'll wish you never talked to Thomas at all. In fact, you can't even wish, because you're dead by then."

Penny then charged at Kizuna. The latter held the pan up and Penny stabbed the pan instead. Kizuna dropped the pan and tried to run past her. Unfortunately, Penny managed to stab her left leg, making Kizuna fall down and groaning in pain.

"Let's see how you fare against death." Penny used her two hands to hold the knife and was about to stab Kizuna's head when the latter held the former's hands and tried to push it away.

Penny used strength to try and overpower Kizuna, while Kizuna tried pushing Penny's hands away. Jason then came out from his room.

"What's all that..." Jason is shocked upon seeing Penny. He pulled her back and pinned her to the floor.

"Let me go!" Penny shouted loudly, but she couldn't squirm out of Jason's grip. Kizuna leaned against the sofa, covering the hole on her left leg.

Thomas got into the house and saw Penny getting restrained by Jason. He looked at Thomas.

"What are you waiting for?" Jason asked, "Call the police right now. She trespassed my property. That's a crime."

Thomas looked at Kizuna, before looking at Penny, who is screaming hysterically. She then looked at Thomas, who teared up while staring at her.

"Don't you dare call the police, Thomas." Penny said. Jason glared at Thomas, "I said, call the fucking police!"

Thomas took out his phone, and switched it on.

"No, no, no!" Penny yelled at him. He dialed the police number and looked at her one last time. With tears dripping down from his eyes, he pressed the call button.

"H...h...hello, police." Thomas stammered between sobs, "T...there's a c...criminal in...in...my f...friend's house. P...please come over a...nd a...a...arrest h...h...her..."

Penny slammed the floor with her fists, "You motherfucker! How dare you betray me, Thomas Springfield! You little piece of horrible shit! Let me go!"

Thomas sat on the floor and started crying. A few minutes later, he went to the police station and saw in front of a visiting cubicle in prison. Penny sat down on the other side. They both picked up the handset of the telephones beside them.

"Hello?" Thomas placed the handset to his ear.

"Thomas, why did you call the police on me?" Penny asked, "I'm your girlfriend, Thomas."

"I had to." Thomas said, "You have committed two crimes. Why did you have to try and kill Ai-chan for? Why?"

"She caused our relationship to fall apart, Thomas." Penny snarled, "She forced us to be separated for her to spend time with you. She broke us up."

"You still can't admit it's just your thinking?" Thomas shook his head, "Three years, Penny."

"I'm not in the wrong!" She yelled, "Why won't you see that? All these girls have tricked you to thinking they're good, but all they want is to snatch you from me!"

"Do you have insecurities, Penny?" Thomas sighed, "You think you won't be able to keep me?"

Penny started laughing hysterically, "I will always have you. It's just these girls are annoying to me. They're like pests. They'll never die if I don't kill them. I did not do anything wrong. I am protecting my relationship. That robot should be jailed and killed for ruining my relationship."

She then looked at him with pitiful eyes, "Thomas, you've got to help me out. I'm your girlfriend. You can't just leave me in the lurch."

"What makes you think I can help you?" Thomas questioned, "You've trespassed someone's house. You had an intent to kill someone. That's two count of crimes right there. Besides, the Master was the one who caught you. I can't do anything about it."

"Wait...so that man that pinned me down...is the M...Master?" Penny asked. Thomas nodded his head.

"Please, Thomas, you got to help me." She cried, "I don't want to die, Thomas. I don't want to die! Can you please tell the Master I'll not do it again? I'll be a good girl and study harder from now on. I still have a future. Please, Thomas. I beg you. You got to..."

"Time's up." One of the two guards announced. The two pulled Penny away from the cubicle as she cried uncontrollably.

Thomas watched as she helplessly tried to struggle free against the grips of the guards, but they were so strong that all her efforts are in vain.

In Kizuna's room, Jason is fixing her left leg with some tools. She just stared at the sky with a worried expression.

"Kizuna?" He asked her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Daddy." She replied, "I'm just worried about Thomas-chan. I wonder...how's he feeling right now. His girlfriend is definitely going to get a death sentence. And I feel that it's my fault."

"Your fault? How is it your fault?"

"Ever since I started talking to Thomas-chan, inviting him to our house, going out together, his girlfriend had been super jealous and had told me not to talk to him anymore. I did listen to her at first, but when I started talking to him again, she sneaked into our house to try and kill me. She had to get a harsh punishment in the end just for protecting her relationship. I feel really bad. If I had listened to her, perhaps their relationship would had blossomed."

Jason held Kizuna's hand, "Kizuna, this is never your fault. From what you said, she just can't let a girl near him except herself. She's super insecure. If you and him are friends, you shouldn't have to worry about anything. It's her fault she couldn't trust her own boyfriend and has trust issues. But let's not get so much into that."

"Oh right, Daddy. How did Thomas get into our house? He doesn't have our keys, and his face is not recognized by the face sensor."

"Umm...since he's your only friend, and you two are quite close, I allowed him into the house by registering his face for the sensor. He can protect you in case I'm not free. Two is better than one, right? Better to be safe than sorry."

"If you say so." Kizuna looked at him.

The next morning, Thomas returned home, only to see his mother sitting on the sofa, having a worried look. She then saw him and asked him about what had happened.

Thomas sat down and explained that Penny had been sentenced to death because she intruded Kizuna's house and tried to kill the female robot. He had also told her about their fights, and that he had broke up with her.

"And you say your relationship's fine." His mother sighed, "Such a pity she's getting that. She had a bright future in front of her. Her grades were excellent, and she was so kind to me. She just has a stubborn mind, thinking any girl could ruin someone's relationship. It's such a shame her personality screwed her future up. Remember to always trust your other one in your relationship, understand? Trust is one of the most important factors in a relationship. If you don't have that, you are doomed right from the start."

Thomas nodded his head and leaned against the sofa. He was sleepy, but he couldn't help feeling sad.

In Simon's house, he, Lucas, and Aaron are watching the news.

"The second police station has been destroyed yesterday." The news reporter stated, "The intruders, Simon Costner and Lucas Lee, together with their riot group, have broke in the police grounds yesterday afternoon and killed many officers along the way. As such, now Simon and Lucas are considered dangerous criminals. All schools will be closed, and everyone is advised to stay in their houses, so that they can be safe from these dangerous criminals. The Master has stated that anyone who can bring any of them to the police station will be rewarded a million dollars. If both are surrendered to the police, the Master will give each household ten thousand dollars. He says that it's important to keep this world safe. In other news, a girl named Penny has been given the death sentence for committing two counts of crime..."

Simon switched off the television and threw the remote control at it, "These darned police fuckers! And that motherfucking Master!"

"Chill, Simon." Aaron patted his shoulder, "You got a whole group behind you. They can shield you from the public."

"You mad, Aaron?" Simon asked, "There are more public members than our riot members. Some of them died in both of the police stations. We don't have enough anymore. We need to think of a better plan."

"Why is Aaron not in the wanted list?" Lucas asked. Aaron shrugged his shoulders, "Guess I'm a lucky man."

Simon stood up and paced up and down the room before snapping his fingers, "We've destroyed two police stations, and it's certainly gaining the attention of the Master, but not in the way we want. Let's aim for the Master's building."

"You fuckin' crazy, Simon." Lucas retorted, "That place is guarded. Besides, it's far from here. Trying to reach there without either one of us getting killed by those elite police robots and the Master is nearly impossible. If we had as much people back then as now, it's possible. Now it's not plausible."

"Then what do you think we should do?" Simon questioned Lucas.

"We do what we do best." Lucas replied, "Rioting. Normal rioting. We still have quite a number of rioters with us, so we can protest and riot like you used to. That's the only way left, isn't it?"

"I hate to admit it, but yes." Simon sighed, "We shall riot and get to the Master's building. Then, I will find the Master and kill him. I shall get ready for it. Tomorrow we can start, perhaps?"

"But how do you know how the Master looks like?" Aaron asked, "Do you have a picture of him?"

"I don't. But I do remember how he looked like, because he fixed me. We shall prepare for tomorrow."

Lucas and Aaron nodded his head in response. As Simon went to the toilet, Lucas told Aaron to meet him outside.

"So, what is it that you wanted to meet me for?" Aaron asked.

"Aaron, do you have...any motive when working with Simon?" Lucas asked, "Any ulterior motive?"

"Not really. I just hated the Master. Since Simon is like the famous leader of the protest group, I might as well join him."

"How about I propose this?" Lucas suggested, "Simon's going to get to the Master eventually, right? So, Simon's definitely going to kill the Master. So, once he does that, he'll get the Master position. You can do the same."

"How?" Aaron asked curiously.

"See, Simon's going to lead us to the Master because we all are going to riot all the way to the Master's building. On the way there, you can betray him. You don't have to kill him with your hands. You can kill him with a phone call."

"To who?"

"The police."

"Oh, right." Aaron nodded his head, "So you're saying I can eliminate Simon by calling the police? And then I can kill the Master with my hands and be the Master?"

Lucas nodded his head.

"But...how do we know how the Master looks like?" Aaron asked, "How do we kill the Master? And why are you helping me?"

"Aaron, oh, Aaron." Lucas patted Aaron's shoulder, "I got fixed by the Master too. I know how he looks like. How do we kill him, you ask? We can just find his office. He's a human, so a headshot should work. Besides, we have known each other for a while. I would have wanted the Master position, but I see you are a more potential candidate than me. You helped us so much with your vehicles and weapons. You went out of your way to help us. Simon only cares for himself, doesn't he? He won't be a good Master. You will."

"That's right." Aaron said, "I'm the best. All this time, I've lent such a big hand. I will help everyone if I'm the Master. Not like Simon."

"But, Aaron, if you become the Master, please treat me kindly and give me benefits." Lucas uttered, "After all, I gave you this idea."

"Sure. I will." Aaron rubbed his hands, "I'll be the next Master, just you watch, Simon Costner."

Lucas gave an evil smile, "What a greedy guy." He thought.

The sun shone brightly through Jason's room, and he could not sleep any longer. He woke up, and immediately, he was blinded by the sunlight momentarily. He saw a figure standing outside of his room. Upon rubbing his eyes, he saw Chantelle at the doorstep of his room. She skipped in and smiled at him, "Hello, Jason."

"Chantelle..." Jason held her hand, "You're back again. Please don't leave me this time. I really want you to stay by my side."

"Jason, I don't know how to break this down to you." She sat down beside him, "I don't know whether I should be kind or harsh."

"What are you talking about?"

"You got to stop what you're doing, Jason." She said to him, "I know you're trying to protect the city, but it's heartbreaking for me to see you like this. It's heartbreaking for me to see you being steered away from your initial motive to what you're doing now."

"What are you even talking about, Chantelle?"

"You know what you've done, or what you're about to do." Chantelle folded her arms, "If this carries on, I'm going to be disappointed in you, Jason. I don't want my husband to be hated anymore. I'm sure if there's a will, there's a way. I'll be going off now. Take care, and I love you."

"Wait..." Jason helplessly watched as Chantelle faded away from him.

He jolted up from his bed.

"It was a dream, wasn't it? But what is Chantelle referring to? Could it be..."

He remembered he told Mike to charge the high-end weapons so that he could eliminate Simon and Lucas.

"But why?" He thought, "Why would she tell me that?"

In the afternoon, after Thomas took a nap in the morning, he invited Kizuna to take a walk in the park with him.

"How are you feeling now, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked worriedly.

"I'm feeling a bit better now." Thomas replied, "But I still can't accept the fact that Penny is going to die. I have broken up with her, but it's just devastating to see her getting the worst thing in life. I really wanted to help her, Ai-chan. But I couldn't. Do you know how does it feel when you can't do anything to help a friend? It feels horrible."

Kizuna stopped walking and looked at Thomas, "I know how you feel, Thomas-chan. I just want to let you know that if you're feeling down, you can come to me. I will always be there for you. Furthermore, I'm your good friend. I don't want you to suffer alone."

"Thanks, Ai-chan." Thomas smiled.

"You know, I don't really like the Master." Kizuna sighed, "His ways to handling people is too overboard. Everybody makes mistakes. No one is perfect. But he thinks that killing the offender will solve the problem. It won't. All these protests are happening because of his actions. It doesn't solve any problem. In fact, it started a war."

"Let's not talk about this, alright, Ai-chan?"

"Right. Thomas-chan, I have something to ask you."

"Eh?"

"Thomas-chan, if any one likes you, and confesses their feelings to you now, how would you feel?" She asked.

"I'll feel...sad. I do not have no time for relationships. I just broke up with someone. I will need time to let go of it. Besides, I don't even know when I'll be ready for a next romantic relationship. Why are you asking me this, Ai-chan?"

She looked at him with a surprised look.


	12. Chapter 12

Kizuna cleared her throat, "Thomas-chan, I have something to ask you."

"Eh?"

"Thomas-chan, if any one likes you, and confesses their feelings to you now, how would you feel?" She asked.

"I'll feel...sad. I do not have no time for relationships. I just broke up with someone. I will need time to let go of it. Besides, I don't even know when I'll be ready for a next romantic relationship. Why are you asking me this, Ai-chan?"

She looked at him with a surprised look.

"Umm...I'm just curious, you know." Kizuna reasoned out, "As a robot, I never really thought of romance and those kind of stuff, so I'm interested about it." She then looked away.

"Do you...like me?" Thomas questioned. He suspected that Kizuna liked him from her reaction to his reply.

Kizuna held his hands and fixed her eyes on him, "Thomas-chan, I'm bad at hiding my expressions, so I'm just going to be frank with you. Ever since I met you, I felt you're an interesting individual. As I started talking to you, hanging out with you, and getting to know you better, I found out that you're a fun and funny guy, yet caring and kind towards me. I always feel happy and joyous when I'm with you. I really enjoy all the times that we have spent together, and I'll feel sad if I'm not with you. Thomas-chan, I...I...I've fallen for you. W...would you be my boyfriend?"

Thomas stared at her with a surprised look.

"I...I mean, you can take your time to think, Thomas-chan." Kizuna let go of his hands, "I know you still think of Penny, and I can understand. I will wait patiently for your answer. No matter what your answer is, I'll always have your back. I'll always be there for you." She then walked away. Thomas sat down on the bench.

"What should I do?" He thought, "Ai-chan just confessed to me. A robot just confessed to me. But, yet again, she has learnt human emotions. I mean, she is not bad at all. She's gentle, kind, and pretty. She has an angelic voice. But I still haven't gotten over Penny. And what would people think of me and her? I'm at a total loss."

Simon told his protestors to get ready with their weapons. Lucas sat down on the sofa in Simon's house, drinking a cup of tea.

"You're not following, Lucas?" Simon asked, "This is big lifetime opportunity. We get to kill the Master with our hands. Why are you missing out on such a deal?"

"I'm tired today." Lucas replied, "I didn't get enough sleep last night. I'm catching up with it soon. Aaron's going to come with you though."

"If you say so." Simon said, "You'll regret missing this out." He then walked out. Lucas stood up and went to the kitchen. He looked from the window and saw the protestors preparing themselves. Lucas gave an evil smile and cackled.

Aaron dialed the police hotline outside Simon's house and placed the phone beside his ear. At this moment, Simon walked past him and saw him talking to someone on the phone.

Upon looking at Simon, Aaron started talking out loud, "Yeah, my dear friend. I'll be there by seven once I settle an important matter." Simon then walked away. Aaron heaved a sigh of relief and continued talking to the police about the details of the raid and Simon. Aaron had to lie to Simon so that the latter doesn't know the former's sabotaging him to go to jail.

Thomas went back home and saw his mother cooking in the kitchen. She came out with a plate of chicken wings, a plate of cabbage, and a plate of fries.

These three dishes are his favorite dishes and they hold a special place in his heart. He liked chicken wings because his mother would buy it for him whenever he scores well for his elementary school and middle school exams.

The cabbage. Back in his younger days, when his family is poor and he is forced to eat only vegetables and rice, he'd choose the cabbage because it was crunchy and has a certain taste to it that he likes. It is still crunchy and tasty to him 'til this day.

Fries. During the times where his family is poor, his father embezzled funds, and went to jail. Thomas was devastated that he would not be able to see his father for four years. His mother, feeling heartbroken as she saw her sad son, bought a packet of fries for him with some of the money she has. It tasted so good, Thomas wanted more. He then swore to work hard so that he could feed himself and his family comfortably.

Unfortunately, that wish was not fully completed. Thomas's father died from diabetes when Thomas was seventeen. Now, he only provides for his mother.

"Time for lunch." She told Thomas. He sat down and they both started eating.

"Mum." Thomas said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, dear." His mother smiled, "What's your question?"

"Someone confessed to me earlier on." He said, "Of course it's a girl, not a boy. Anyways, I'm quite close to her. We spent time together, and talk a lot to each other. She's pretty, she's cute, she's kind. She also makes me happy and at ease. I would like to date her, but there's Penny. I still can't forget her at all. Although I have broken up with Penny, but I still love her a bit. It's hard for me to make a decision."

His mother cleared her throat, "Thomas, I think you should accept the girl's confession, and be with her. I know I may sound like a bitch, but Penny is gone now. She didn't trust you in your relationship, and you guys broke up, so you can let go of it. There are always better girls up ahead, and you have fortunately found one. Don't let the chance slip by. If you're worried about thinking of Penny while you're with the girl, just tell the girl the truth, and let her decide. But this is just my two cents on it. It's all up to you."

Thomas nodded his head and stuffed a piece of cabbage into his mouth before proceeding to chew it.

Simon and the protestors are reloading their guns, holding knives, and took glass bottles from their houses. Simon is at the middle of the pack, while Aaron is at the back.

"So, we're going all the way to the Master's office before destroying it." Simon stated, "If anyone tries to stop us, we fight back. Except for the police. If we see them, we have to run away. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" The protestors shouted in union. They then marched forward while Aaron followed behind, looking around frantically.

Surprisingly, no one blocked the way. Perhaps the residents knew not to mess with Simon's crew. Or it could be for a totally different reason.

As they are halfway there, they stopped in front of a roadblock.

"Now, what's this piece of shit doing here?" Simon held the barrier and threw it away, "This is obviously blocking our way." Upon removing it, he saw police cars approaching towards him.

"Run, guys." Simon told his protestors, "Run to the police cars and destroy them while I get to the office. I promise all your sacrifices will be worth it because I'll be the Master by then! For now, charge!"

Simon ran to another direction as the protestors charged towards the cars. Aaron turned around and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Mike stopped his car and got out. He told some police officers to follow him while the rest deal with the protestors.

"Simon Costner, stop running!" He shouted as he ran after Simon. Some of the protestors tried stopping him, but Mike just carried theme easily and tossed them away like it's some lightweight thing.

"Never knew Sir Mike could do all these easily." One of the police officers running said.

"Well, he's a damn robot!" Another one added on, "Of course he could do it!"

Simon ran past residents and pushed them aside before hiding in a clothing shop. Mike walked into the shop and walked around, looking at clothes on hangers. He pushed the hangers to see if Simon's hiding behind the clothes, but there's nothing at all.

He slowly walked around the store, inspecting each and every clothes rack. He then went to the fitting room and opened the door. There was no one. Mike thought he heard a little creek sound, but he guessed he is hearing things.

Just then, Simon, who is hanging on the ceiling this whole time, jumped down on Mike and took his gun. Simon then ran out of the shop. Mike got up after a few seconds and started chasing him.

Simon squeezed through a crowd of people, with Mike running after him. Simon jumped through some food stalls and turning left and right a few times. He sometimes would fall down from leaping through stalls. However, Mike does it with ease. They both ran to the alley.

When Mike reached the alley, he looked around and saw no one.

"I shall switch my metal detector on." Mike said to himself. He then scanned his surroundings. His radar beeped red when something metallic was detected the rubbish bin.

Mike slowly walked towards it and quickly open it before taking out his gun. When he took a look inside, he is dumbfounded. A deactivated robot is lying on the piles of smelly trash.

"Damn it!" Mike kicked the rubbish bin and roared in anger. He can't believe he couldn't catch up with Simon even though Mike is a robot, has high-end technology, and has better running and jumping skills.

Jason is in his office, talking to Mike a few minutes after the failure.

"The high-end guns' at ninety eight percent." Jason told Mike, "Remember to take the weapons and hunt Simon down."

"Yes, sir!" Mike then ended the call. Jason placed his phone onto the table and leaned against his chair. He might had a plan to take Simon down.

At night, Simon returned home to see Aaron and Lucas sitting down on the sofa, watching television shows.

"You still have the mood to watch shows?" Simon asked angrily.

"Oh, hey, you've been gone for a long time." Aaron said, "How's the raid? I ran away quite fast, so nobody was able to catch me. I can't say about the rest, because I don't know where they are now."

"So all our protestors are gone?"

"I'm afraid so." Lucas replied, "We could only enjoy our time as much as possible. Rioting further will cause us to die."

"No, we can't give up just like that!" Simon stated, "We three can make..."

"A difference? I don't think so." Aaron said, "Three versus the Master and his dogs? We ain't gonna beat that. Case closed. I'm going to take a big shit." He then stood up and went into the toilet.

"He should be captured and arrested." Lucas thought, "How did he escape? Aaron didn't even do a good job. I have to do Plan B now."

Lucas took Aaron's phone on the table and gave it to Simon.

"Passcode's 556793." Lucas told him, "You can find your answer there."

"Why are you giving me Aaron's phone?" Simon asked. Lucas just smiled at him, "See it for yourself."

Simon unlocked the phone and browsed through the contents of the phone. His mind is in total shock as he saw Aaron's recent calls.

Thomas is in his room, contemplating on whether he should accept Kizuna or not. He has been trying to come to a decision for the whole afternoon. On one hand, he would like to be with her due to her personality, prettiness, and cuteness. But at the same time, he's scared he might hurt Kizuna because he will still think about Penny. He looked at the picture that he and Kizuna took together, and then took his phone out.

Meanwhile, Kizuna is in her room, sitting on her bed, thinking of what she could say to Thomas tomorrow. She could tell him that her feelings are true, and she would do anything to be with him. Or she could tell him it was just a joke, and that Thomas shouldn't take it seriously. Given the face Thomas had gave her this morning, she felt that Thomas wouldn't accept her, and that she would need to say the latter and keep her feelings for Thomas to herself for the rest of her life.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She immediately went to check, and it was a message from Thomas, stating that he wants to meet her tomorrow morning. Kizuna is surprised. She then became worried.

"What would be his answer?" She thought anxiously.

The next morning, Simon told Aaron to meet in the former's room. Simon then locked the door while Aaron sat on his bed.

"Have you seen my phone, Simon?" Aaron asked him. He shook his head.

"So, why did you call me here, Simon?" Aaron asked, "I'm in search of my phone."

"Aaron Powell, you clearly know what you did." Simon said, "Own up to it and tell me why you did it."

"What did I do?" Aaron asked with a confused look, "I've helped you lots of times, providing weapons to you, spending my money to assist you in protesting and raiding."

"Drop the act, Powell. I know what you've did, and you know it too. Why did you do it?"

"I have been doing nothing but constantly helping you, Costner."

"Alright, then what's this?" Simon took out Aaron's power and showed Aaron his call history.

"So you did take my phone!" Aaron exclaimed.

"That's not the main point." Simon threw his phone away, "The point is that you betrayed me. Why did you snitch on me? Why did you call the damn police? You wanted me to get the death sentence?"

"Look, Simon, believe me, but Lucas told me to do so." Aaron replied, "He..."

"Blaming people because you wanted to become the Master yourself?" Simon took out a knife, "I'm sorry, but that title's reserved for me."

Simon leaped quickly to Aaron and stabbed Aaron's chest. Aaron tried to push Simon's hands away, but the latter just held the handle of the knife with one hand and hammered the top of the handle with his other hand, which has been clenched into a fist. Soon enough, the knife went through Aaron's body.

"Since you're about to die, I shall tell you my plan." Simon growled, "I aim to kill you and Lucas so that I can be the Master everyone deserves. You or that blond bitch ain't going to stop me at anything. I'll kill him after I murder you."

Simon forcefully took it out, and blood spurted out of Aaron's body rapidly. A few seconds later, Aaron died due to the excessive loss of blood.

Simon washed his knife and kept it back in his pocket. He took the body and threw it into the trash bin outside.

He then walked to the living room and saw Lucas sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.

"Lucas." Simon went to him, "I would like to ask you a question. Hopefully it doesn't offend you."

Lucas placed his newspaper down on the sofa, "Go ahead."

"Did you tell Aaron to call the police?"

"If I said yes, would you have believed it?"

"I don't think so." Simon said, "After all, you are the one who set me free from jail and helped me a lot. You don't look like the type of guy to backstab me. Aaron blamed you for his mistakes earlier, so I had punished him."

"So, where's he now?"

"I threw him away. Killed him, before discarding his body in a dustbin. A traitor doesn't deserve to be alive."

Lucas nodded his head in response, "What about the weapons and money?"

"I don't think we need much of it anymore." Simon sighed, "There's some leftover money from Aaron's wallet. We'll take it to buy a weapon, I guess."

"Sure." Lucas replied. Simon then walked to his room. Lucas flipped the newspaper to the front page, and the headlines on it read, "Protestors arrested and placed in probation rooms."

"You want to kill me, Simon Costner?" Lucas thought to himself, "What a shame. I'll be killing you first. I'll become the real Master. It's easier with one person gone. You're next, Simon."

Kizuna waited for Thomas in the park. She is sitting on a bench, her legs shaking in fear. She is still feeling very fearful and uneasy.

Thomas then arrived at the park and went to her.

"Sorry for making you wait." Thomas said, "My mother called me back to do some work."

"It's okay. How are you?" Kizuna asked worriedly, "Are you coping well?"

"I'm fine, Ai-chan." Thomas told her, "Look at me. I'n alive and kicking. I'm just trying to get used to Penny's death sentence."

"So, um, Thomas-chan, do you have an answer to the question I asked yesterday?" Kizuna asked.

"Oh yeah, that one..." Thomas looked away from her. Kizuna looked at him with sad eyes before looking down.

"I get it, Thomas-chan." Kizuna sighed, "What was I thinking? A man and a robot can't be together. It's all my imagination. Anyways, I really hope you'll continue to be my best friend, and I'll see you tomorrow."

She turned around and was about to walk away when Thomas grabbed her hand and pulled her near to him.

"I didn't say I was going to reject you, did I, Ai-chan?" Thomas smiled at her. Her eyes widened, "Does that mean...you have accepted me as your girlfriend?"

"I found you a very nice and kind robot, and pretty too. I can't let you run away from me, can't I? But I hope you can understand that I might be thinking about Penny every once in a while. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, I am." Kizuna smiled at him before hugging him. Thomas patted her head with one hand and caressed her hair with the other.

At night, Kizuna sat down on her bed and smiled at the photo she had taken with him during the movie outing today. It shows Thomas kissing Kizuna on the cheek, and the latter smiling. They have finally became a couple, and she is super happy for not having to hide her feelings any longer. Now, her problem is how to continue it. She hasn't been in a romantic relationship before, and thus she is unsure of what to do. Perhaps Thomas could teach her a thing or two. For now, she can't tell Jason about her relationship. She's scared he will reject it.

Jason knocked her door, and she allowed him to come in.

"Why are you smiling so brightly?" Jason asked, "Did Thomas make you this happy?"

She nodded her head, "We had a fun time today."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your day." Jason said, "I'm here to check on you, but it seems like you're very joyful now. I shall sleep now, so good night, Kizuna."

"Good night, Daddy." Kizuna said before he went out of the room. She then lied on her bed and kept staring dreamily at the picture. She can't wait for more memories with him to be created.

The next morning, Kizuna invited Thomas over for breakfast. She waited for him outside her house. When he came over, she kissed him on the cheeks.

"Good morning, Thomas-chan." She smiled.

"Good morning, my pretty Ai-chan." Thomas kissed her cheeks, "Shall we go inside now?"

She nodded her head, "But before that, have you told your mother about our relationship yet?"

Thomas shook his head, "She will be furious if she finds out. What about your father?"

"I haven't told him yet too." She replied, "Let's wait for a while more before we tell them, alright?"

Thomas nodded his head and they both went in. Jason is sitting down on the sofa, reading some papers from a blue file.

"Thomas!" Jason saw him and waved hello, "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Thomas answered, "You're doing work now?"

"Yeah." Jason then stood up, "By the way, can I speak to you? Privately?"

"Sure." Thomas told Jason. Jason then brought the university student to the kitchen. With nothing to do, Kizuna decided to clean the table.

As she was cleaning, she saw the files and was tempted to look at it. She wanted to know her father's occupation since he never told her about it before. She looked left and right to make sure Jason wasn't looking before she looked at the file.

In the kitchen, Jason is talking to Thomas.

"Thanks for taking care of her, Thomas." Jason told him, "I really appreciate what you had done for her."

"It's fine." Thomas replied, "She's my good friend. I just want to make her happy, you know. How's it going with the Simon case?"

"Not well." Jason sighed, "Mike can't even catch him. He's into hiding, so I sent people and robots to search for him. The good thing is, his protestors are all caught. Most of them didn't talk, but one or two of them gave us clues about Simon, like what he did, where he might be, and where his partner Lucas could be, and it is with the details of the people who was sentenced to death by me. They are all in my blue file..."

Upon saying that, a sudden realization struck him. Jason had left his file on the table. He is scared that Kizuna might have seen them.

"Oh shit!" He cursed, "My blue file is on the table!"

"What blue file?"

"My blue file that has the information of Simon and the other criminals that I have given the death sentence to! Fuck, I need to keep them before she sees it!"

Jason and Thomas ran out of the kitchen to the living room, only to see Kizuna gripping the file with anger. She glared at Jason.

"Daddy, why didn't you tell me?" She asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were the Master all along?!"

"Oh no." Thomas gulped.


	13. Chapter 13

Jason and Thomas ran out of the kitchen to the living room, only to see Kizuna gripping the file with anger. She glared at Jason.

"Daddy, why didn't you tell me?" She asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were the Master all along?!"

"Oh no." Thomas gulped.

"I'm just a policeman, Kizuna." Jason lied, "I have that file to..."

"You still want to lie to me?" She held the file up with anger, "Every single detail of every single person who got the death sentences are in here, including eyewitnesses for Simon Costner. When you talked to a police officer and Thomas-chan was eavesdropping, I was too. From the top of the stairs, when I listened to what you were saying, I genuinely thought you were a policeman. You know what's the worst part of this? I believed you were not the Master. I believed that you were an innocent guy, a good father, a righteous man. When I found out what your real name is from this file, you know how heartbroken I was? Jason Coleman. You're the great grandson of Hideki Coleman. And the descendants always take the place of the Master when the previous one retire, don't they?"

"Ai-chan, listen..." Thomas tried talking it out but then she looked at him.

"Why aren't you surprised, Thomas-chan?" She asked, "Is it because you knew, and you chose to keep it from me?"

Thomas looked down with guilt.

"You are a bunch of liars!" Kizuna cried before running out of the house.

"Chase her, Thomas." Jason said. Thomas nodded and ran after her. Jason sighed and leaned on the sofa. His daughter had finally learnt the truth about him accidentally, and now she's going to be mad at him forever. He wonder how's he going to communicate with her next time.

Thomas ran after Kizuna, who is just trying to run away from him. They ran into a park and a shopping mall. Thomas stopped at a corner to catch his breath.

"Damn. This robot sure can run fast." He huffed before continuing to catch up. As Kizuna constantly looked back to see if Thomas is catching up, she stepped onto the road. A car is advancing towards her and honked. When she looked to her right, she was shocked and stood on the spot.

Thomas, with his quick reflexes, pulled Kizuna over to him just in time before the car went pass them.

"Ai-chan!" Thomas looked at her worriedly, "You could've gotten yourself killed there! Please, don't run anymore. I will explain."

Kizuna nodded her head. He brought her to a bench for her to sit down before he does so.

"Ai-chan, I know that it's a big blow to you." Thomas sighed, "You hated the Master, but you love your dad."

"I just can't believe it." She shook her head, "I don't know if I could ever, ever accept the fact. Why didn't you tell me about it? We are a couple. We're not supposed to be hiding secrets from each other."

"Ai-chan, he did this for a reason." Thomas explained, "It might be an unreasonable excuse, but I feel him. He had a wife and a daughter. Both were very lovely and dear to him. One day, he lost them both. Someone killed them, and the murderer got away with only a jail sentence of 17 years."

"Isn't that enough?" Kizuna asked irately, "17 years is quite a long time."

"To you, because you haven't lost a family member before." Thomas said, "Ai-chan, he lost his wife and his daughter. He lost his loved ones. For him to feel such pain is normal. Yes, maybe what he had done today seems like a bastard move. But he done it because he doesn't want anyone to lose their loved ones. He implemented the rules so that the family members of the victim feels justified."

"There can be better ways, Thomas-chan." Kizuna replied, "The Master... I mean, Daddy could have thought of better solutions. Instead of serving death sentences to murderers. That doesn't solve the problem; that escalates the problem."

"He knows that. But, we can't satisfy everyone in this world." Thomas sighed, "He wants to help those whose family members are killed. He wants to prevent murder. He doesn't expect this outcome, but he can't change the rules suddenly, right? If he does, everyone will kill him. You don't want to lose your father and your master, right?"

Kizuna nodded her head. Lucas is walking in the park when he saw Thomas and Kizuna talking about the Master. He hid behind a tree to listen

"Ai-chan." Thomas held her hands, "I know this is hard for you to accept. You hate the Master, and knowing that your father's the Master pains your heart. But he's trying his best to maintain this world. Your father's really trying his best to keep everyone safe. We can't help the passive rioters, or those who hate the Master because of this. Imagine if your loved one died. Imagine if I died. Would you feel sad and heartbroken?"

Kizuna looked at him.

"Ai-chan, I really hope you could understand him, and be in his shoes." Thomas smiled at her, "You only see the people who are unhappy. You haven't seen those joyous ones when justice is finally served to their loved ones' murderer. Your father made this rule to make them feel better. Please, Ai-chan. You have a good relationship with him. You guys love each other. I hope this doesn't destroy the relationship you have built up with him. Please understand him, alright, Ai-chan?"

Kizuna reluctantly nodded her head. She's still trying her best to accept the fact that her dad is the cruel Master of this world. Thomas hugged her and patted her back.

They then stood up and walked off. Lucas got out from the tree.

"I heard them talking about the death sentences and rules...it must be about the Master." He thought, "I couldn't hear what they are talking about in detail clearly. How are they related to the Master?"

Jason sat down on his bed. He wondered what Kizuna would have thought of him. She would think that he's a bad person, an evil guy, an emotionless being. A person who only brings problems to the table.

Jason buried his face in his hands and sighed when he heard the main door open. He walked to the living room to see Kizuna and Thomas return.

"You're back, Kizuna." Jason said.

"Daddy, why did you hide it from me?" Kizuna asked.

"I knew you would ask me that question." Jason responded, "You hated the Master so much. If I were to tell you, you will hate me for life. The relationship we've built, I don't want it to die down. I don't want to lose a good daughter like you. I love you so much. All the more I hope you love me. I know giving people the death sentences are harsh. If you know the tragedy I've faced, you would've known why I did this."

"You don't think there's no other solutions to this?"

"Kizuna, I can't just do it like how my father, grandfather, or Hideki did. The same thing would happen over and over again. I don't want anyone to suffer anymore. I can't change your mind, Kizuna, so if you have decided to hate me, go ahead. I deserved it."

"You're going to give up our close relationship just like that?" Kizuna asked angrily, "What we have been building up for years, and you're allowing us to drift apart because of this?"

"Then what do you want me to do?" Jason asked with tears in his eyes, "I can't satisfy both parties, Kizuna. I've lost my wife. I've lost my daughter. People can't just lose their family members just because someone murdered them. What happens if someone comes to kill you? Do you think I can handle the pain twice? I created this rule so that I can protect you! I don't want to lose you, Kizuna! I don't!"

Jason looked elsewhere to clear his tears. Kizuna went to his front and looked at him, "Daddy, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" He turned to look at her, "Sorry for what? I should be the one saying so. I hid such a big issue from you."

"I love you very much, and I know you did everything to protect me. Everything you did is all for my good." Kizuna said, "I know I shouldn't have flared up at you when I heard that you're the Master without hearing you out. I'm sorry."

She then hugged him. He patted her head, "You have every right to be angry at me. I'm glad you're not angry at me anymore."

Kizuna hugged her father tightly. Thomas leaned against the door and smiled at them.

Simon is in his room, thinking about how he could eliminate Lucas. Simon wants the Master spot all to himself. Now that most of riot group members are sent to jail thanks to Aaron, he has to get there with the help of the remaining rioters.

He is scared that Lucas would snatch the position away from him, and he would be the servant while Lucas would be the Master if that were to happen. Simon needs to take action as soon as he can. But when?

Lucas got out of Simon's toilet and went to the living room.

"Where are you going, Lucas?" Simon asked.

"The pharmacy." Lucas replied, "I needed to buy some shampoo and conditioner for my hair. My old shampoo ran out, and my old conditioner makes my hair smell a bit unpleasant."

"Oh, okay. Go ahead."

As Lucas got out of the house, Simon thought that the best time to eliminate Lucas is now. Lucas won't be expecting it as he's only going out to buy his necessities. Thus, Simon followed Lucas.

While Lucas is walking, Simon kept a distance from him and walked slowly. They walked past zebra crossings. They walked past shops. Most importantly, they walked past the pharmacy.

"I knew it." Simon thought, "Lucas is tricking me. He's going to do something. And I'm going to find out."

After a few minutes, they have reached Eddie's house. Lucas stepped in and closed the door. Simon waited for a while before slowly opening the door. He looked around to see no one.

He walked in and closed the door.

"So you've been following me this whole time, Simon Costner." Lucas appeared behind him, "You are one extraordinary guy."

"How did you find out?" Simon questioned.

"It's easy. People are staring at you for tailgating me. I looked at them and I knew you were behind."

"Then let me get straight to..."

"...the point. You want to kill me, because you want the Master position all to yourself." Lucas continued Simon's sentence, "Am I right?"

"Are you a god, Lucas Lee? How do you know everything?"

"You treat me like a dummy, Simon?" Lucas asked, "You know, Simon. I wanted to kill the Master and take his position too. I guess there's only one way to see who can take the spot."

"And what is it?"

"We see who dies first. The person standing will get that position." Lucas then charged at Simon and tried kicking the latter's face, but Simon dodged and punched Lucas on the stomach.

Simon took up the telephone and smashed it on Lucas's head. Lucas stumbled back to the wall. He took the remote control and held it tight.

Simon is about to kick Lucas's face, but the latter blocked it with his right robotic hand and punched Simon's face before whacking it with the controller.

Simon pulled Lucas towards him and pushed him to the television. Simon fisted Lucas's face a few times before carrying him and throwing him on it with force. The television broke, and Lucas's back is in pain.

As Simon took one of broken glass shards to try and stab Lucas, he got up and roundhouse-kicked Simon, which sent him flying to the kitchen. Lucas took a pot and put it over Simon's head. Lucas then took a spatula and knocked the pot with it, making a loud 'gong' sound and making Simon dizzy.

Lucas took the pot out, placed the spatula inside Simon's mouth, and twisted it before he kicked Simon, forcefully pulling the spatula out. Some of Simon's teeth broke off and fell onto the floor.

Simon got up and grabbed a table beside him. As Lucas was about to kick him, he smashed the table onto Lucas's head. He took a broken glass shard and stabbed it through Lucas's right arm.

Lucas immediately punched Simon's genitals, making the latter scream in pain. Lucas stood up and pushed him towards Eddie's room. Lucas then booted Simon, which made the latter fly to the cabinet of awards. It broke instantly, the medals, trophies, and sharp glass shards all falling onto Simon.

Lucas walked slowly to Simon and picked him up. He then slammed Simon onto the glass shards and then stepped on his head to make sure the glass shards pierced through his face.

Lucas wore gloves and took a gun out from his pocket before shooting Simon on the head thrice. He placed the gun on Simon's hands and took his gloves off.

"Finally dead." Lucas thought satisfyingly, "Annoying obstacles in my way will be eliminated."

Lucas proceeds to the pharmacy as he gets plasters to cover his cuts on his face. As he is searching for tissues, his conditioner, and shampoo, he bumped into Kizuna. He dropped his box of plasters.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Kizuna picked it up and returned it to him.

"This voice sounds familiar." Lucas thought, "Could this be the woman from the park earlier, talking about the Master?"

"Mister, are you okay?" Kizuna asked worriedly, "You look very lost."

"I'm fine." Lucas said, "Thanks for asking. By the way, I think I saw you in the park. You and a guy in his twenties."

"Oh, you mean Thomas-chan?" She asked, "He's my boyfriend. We didn't see you, though."

"It's okay. I think I just walked past you while you were in the midst of your conversation."

"Alright, I have to get back to my father." Lucas said, "I have to help him choose which conditioner he should use."

"Okay." Lucas then saw her skipped to Jason. He looked closely at Jason as he and Kizuna are talking happily about the conditioners.

"I remember him!" Lucas thought, "He's the fucking Master! The son of a bitch who waited for me to nearly die to help me! Wait, so that means..." He then looked at Kizuna, "She's the daughter? Daughter of the Master? This is interesting." He paid for his stuff and walked away, having a plan in his mind.

Mike is looking at the high-end weapons in the laboratory. James is showing him some of the most exquisite ones.

"This one." James took out a big-sized gun, "The Propeller. Shoots six bullets in one round. Comes out one by one, with an interval of a millisecond, and no recoil. When fully charged, the bullets from its first three shots are able to take anyone down, be it a robot or a human."

"Fascinating." Mike nodded his head and held the gun, "We can use this to take down the remaining protestors. Especially Simon and Lucas."

"You let Simon ran away." James commented.

"He used some stupid tactics on me. I guarantee that I'll catch him the next time I see him."

Suddenly, Mike's phone buzzed. He answered the call. He nodded and replied with a 'OK' before ending the call.

"What happened?" James asked.

"Someone is found dead. In Eddie Lee's house."

A few minutes later, Mike and a few police officers reported to the crime scene. Mike wore gloves and opened the door. He and the officers searched around the house until an officer found a body in Eddie's room.

Mike went down to the room and saw that it is Simon's body.

"Simon Costner?" He thought, "He's the dead man?" He inspected Simon's body carefully. There seemed to be no handprints or fingerprints on Simon or the gun on Simon's hand.

"There's no clues, Sir." One officer said, "What do we do?"

"We'll check the cameras outside." Mike replied, "I'm pretty sure someone else entered this house besides Simon."

"Yes, Sir!" The officers then ran out of the room. Mike looked at Simon as he thought of the person who might have murdered Simon.

Thomas brought Kizuna to a shopping mall.

"Thomas-chan, why did you bring me here today?" She asked curiously.

"You're here to have a new look!" Thomas said, "I think you should change your outfit. Not that I don't like it, but as a girl, dress like a girl."

"What's wrong with the outfit, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna questioned.

"Nothing, Ai-chan. I mean, I don't have any offence against it. I just feel a new change of clothes would be nicer for you. Like, you can wear this outfit on alternate days, and the new outfit in alternate days too. Let's go in and talk about it."

Thomas took Kizuna to a clothing store as they held hands.

"Look, there are many clothes for you to choose from." Thomas told her, "Pick whatever you like, and I'll buy it for you."

"Do I really have to do this, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked, "I have my clothes here. I'm fine with them."

"Would you do it for me, please?" Thomas asked, "I would like to see a new appearance of you. Pretty please?"

Kizuna sighed before smiling at him, "For you, Thomas-chan." Upon hearing that, he kissed her cheeks.

"Thanks." Thomas smiled back. She then went into the female clothing section to search for clothes to wear. Thomas waited outside the fitting room.

"Okay, I'm done, Thomas-chan." Kizuna said. Thomas looked up and got a shock. She donned the same top, but now with a white skirt and velvet red heels.

"D..does this look good on me, Thomas-chan?" Kizuna asked, her cheeks blushing, "Please tell me it's nice, because I took a long time to choose this."

"You look beautiful." The sight of Kizuna filled Thomas with awe, "Stunning. Pretty."

"Are you sure you're not exaggerating?"

"I ain't, Ai-chan. You do look good in this." Thomas said, "Although I wish you would change your top. But I'm happy with this. You know, this reminds me of shopping with Penny."

"Thomas-chan..."

"Whenever Penny wanted to buy clothes, she'd bring me along." Thomas sighed, "She'd ask for my opinion on the dresses and shirts she wore. She'd made sure I liked the sight of it before she bought them. I enjoyed those times."

Kizuna looked at him as he looked down. Both of them kept quiet for a while before she spoke up, "I'll try on some clothes. You'll then pick which one you like."

He looked at her with surprise, to which she replied, "I just want to make you happy, Thomas-chan."

"Alright." He smiled.

After a few tryouts, they walked out with bags of new clothes.

"You sure picked a lot for me." Kizuna said.

"You look good in everything, Ai-chan." Thomas commented, "It's hard to say that it's not beautiful. Well, maybe it's because you're so gorgeous."

"Aww." Her cheeks turned red, "You flatter me, Thomas-chan."

"But, seriously, Ai-chan," He held her hands and gazed at her, "Thanks for today. I really appreciate it."

"Don't sweat it." Kizuna smiled, "I did it because I love you."

"Need me to carry these bags to your home?"

"Of course you do. You're my boyfriend. A boyfriend is supposed to help his girlfriend."

Both of them laughed as they walked out of the shopping mall. A few minutes later, they reached her house. She took all the bags.

"I shall try one of these on tomorrow." She told him, "Then you can see me in a new outfit."

"Yeah." Thomas kissed her cheeks, "I'll text you later, alright?" She nodded her head and kissed his cheeks too. She waved goodbye to him and he waved back. He then went home.

The next morning, Thomas is going to the supermarket to buy some groceries. As he is walking, a van stopped beside him. The next thing he knew, his head is covered by a black plastic bag as he is being pulled into the van.

"Hello?" Thomas screamed for help. One of the masked men in the van took out his phone and called Lucas.

"Boss, we got him."

"I see." Lucas replied, "Bring him to the destination. I'll meet you there soon. In the meantime, cover his face with the bag."

When Lucas ended the call, he pointed his gun at James's head. He is outside James's house, and at his back, he has some masked men.

"You owe me a big favor, James Watson." Lucas growled, "Remember when I saved your late mother? Now it's time to repay it back."

James gulped in fear.


	14. Chapter 14

James brought Lucas and his men to the former's laboratory downstairs. The latter looked around. This same laboratory is used to make robots to increase the population of robots in this world. There are other things in there, such as a fridge, a bed, and a workbench. Lucas then his gun at James's head.

"Make as many robots as possible." Lucas commanded, "Once I'm satisfied with the quantity, I'll stop it. And make sure they listen to me, not you. Any time I see you do something strange, I'll just shoot you. You understand?"

"Y...yes." James started up a machine in the middle of the room. It is a huge one with lots of buttons. He pressed some of them before the machine stared working.

A robot then came out from the machine. James took it out and dragged it to the workbench. He plugged a USB cable to connect his computer and robot. He then typed in some commands. All these while, the men are concentrating on what he is doing.

"Command it to meet at Garderner Street." Lucas said. James nodded his and keyed in a few more lines before pressing the 'Enter' key. He then took a screwdriver out.

"What's that for?" Lucas asked.

"To make sure the robot is turned on and working." James explained, "I'll touch the robot with this electric screwdriver. Then, I'll push it into the linkway, which is directly beside the workbench. It'll go through there, and it leads them to the Robot Gathering Centre. From there, they'll function."

"Alright." Lucas patted James's shoulder, "I'll be going away for a while. I got business to handle. Meanwhile, my men here will guard you and will be watching your every move. So don't try anything funny. Understand?"

James nodded his head. Lucas gave a smirk before leaving the laboratory. As he walked away, James looked at him before looking at the robot that has just been created.

In a house, Thomas is tied to a chair while being blindfolded. The men who drove him to the house are surrounding him.

"I wonder why Boss asked us to keep him." One of them said, "He doesn't look like a serious threat."

"Serious threat? He doesn't even look like a threat to Boss!" Another one said.

The men, who are the remaining protestors, had a meeting with Lucas and Jericho the previous night. Lucas told them that Simon had been murdered. Jericho then declared Lucas the next boss since Lucas is quite close to Simon.

"I don't feel comfortable calling that blonde guy Boss." The third man grumbled, "I feel like he has something to do with our real Boss's death."

"C'mon, Lucas already said it was some other murderer." The second one retorted, "Besides, why would Lucas kill Simon if they both have a common goal of killing the Master?"

"Haven't you heard of backstabbing, Mr Naive?" The third one questioned.

"Hello, let me out of this place!" Thomas screamed. The three men turned to him. At this moment, Lucas strolled in.

"Anything I missed?" He asked. The men shook their heads. He then went to Thomas and searched his pockets for his phone.

"Who the hell are you?" Thomas asked, "Why are you searching through my pockets?"

"Can you just shut up?" Lucas told Thomas as he took out the phone. Lucas kept it and told his men to leave the house.

"What about the guy?" One of the men asked.

"We'll leave him here until I'm done with what I need to do." Lucas said.

"You'd better let me out now!" Thomas shouted, "I'll report you to the Master when I get out of here, I swear!"

"Oh no, I'm scared." Lucas replied sarcastically, "Good luck getting out." Lucas then went out of the house and into his car.

He took out Thomas's phone and switched it on. He saw that Kizuna had texted him 'Good morning, Thomas-chan!' with a heart-shaped emoji.

Lucas has planned to text Kizuna so that he can lure her out. He will capture her and force the Master to come out. Lucas will then kill him, and take the title of the Master. He has to just wait for Kizuna to text again.

In the afternoon, Jason took out a photo album to look at while he is sitting on his bed in his room.

He flipped through the pages and saw pictures of him, his father, and his mother. He began to reminisce about the moments with his parents.

His father and mother accompanied him a lot during his young times. His mother worked as a supermarket cashier while his father was the previous Master. Although his father had such a tiring and busy job, he would always find time to be with his family, and bringing them to places such as the museum. Jason liked that. His father is also liked by his colleagues, and is well-received by the residents then. A young Jason wished to be like his father.

One day, his mother was killed by her ex-boyfriend in a hit-and-run accident, in an attempt to just paralyse her. Jason and his father were very devastated, but the latter just gave the man a fifteen year jail sentence.

When Jason asked why, his father simply replied, "He didn't have an intention of killing. I can't charge him the death sentence."

Jason didn't understand why the man didn't get what he deserves: death. The man had murdered his mother nonetheless. His mother was gone just like that.

Jason continued flipping the pages until he saw a picture that his late grandfather took with him. The photo reminded Jason of what his grandfather had said to him.

**Twenty five years ago...**

_A young Jason is playing on the slide. His grandfather sat on the bench, calling someone on his phone. Jason then saw him on the phone and went to him._

_"...alright, I understand." His grandfather said, "I'll discuss this with you later." He then ended the call._

_"Grandpa, who is that?" Jason asked curiously._

_"Your father." The old man smiled, "He asked me if he should give the man a death sentence."_

_"What happened?" Jason sat beside him. He cleared his throat before explaining, "The man has been constantly robbing shop owners for months, and no matter how many jail sentences your father gives, he'd never learn his lesson. Or so we thought."_

_"We should give him the death sentence!" Jason exclaimed, "Then nobody will steal again!"_

_"Jason, that's not what the Master is supposed to do." His grandfather stated, "He can't just issue death sentences to anyone and everyone. It must be for a very serious case. And in this one, the robber does have a rough family background. His parents don't give him money, and constantly kicks him out of the house if he doesn't pay rent on time. That's why your father and I have to discuss about this matter. Tell me, Jason. What did this incident tell you?"_

_"That all robbers should be given a chance because they are poor?"_

_"No, Jason. It tells you that there are two sides to a coin. Don't just look at one side of the story, like listening to bystanders. You have to look at the other side of the story too. You must be in their shoes to understand what's happening and what they are going through. That's what we Masters do, and I hope you'll follow us."_

_Jason nodded his head, "I understand now, Grandpa!"_

**Back to the present...**

Jason closed the photo album and kept it back in his drawer. He had regretted turning this world into a world with war. Just because of a rule he made, millions of people are angered by it.

He then heard stomping from the living room. He went out of his room to see Kizuna, in her normal shirt and a white skirt, pacing up and down with a worried face.

"What's wrong, Kizuna?" Jason asked.

"Daddy, Thomas-chan is not replying to my messages for four hours already." Kizuna replied, "Usually he'd text me very quickly, like in ten minutes. But it's been hours. I'm very worried."

"He might be busy or something." Jason said, "You can't expect him to be free with you forever."

"I'm just anxious about him, Daddy." Kizuna whined, "He will usually respond to my messages no matter how busy he is."

"Alright, I'll try to call him." Jason assured her, "If not, I'll ask Mike to search for him. Don't worry about it too much, okay? Just relax."

"How can I relax?" She asked frantically, "There can be accidents happening outside and he might be involved in them! I'm worried about his well-being and safety! I don't want to lose my loving boyfriend..." Upon saying that word, she immediately closed her mouth and shut up. She prayed Jason didn't listen to the last part.

"What did you just say, Kizuna?" Jason asked with his eyebrows raised.

"N...nothing." Kizuna replied, "He's my best friend. That's why I worry."

"Boyfriend?" Jason asked, "Are you together with him?"

"Daddy..."

"Kizuna!" Jason is shocked, "You know that a robot dating a human is impossible! People will laugh at you!"

"I don't care about the public!" Kizuna retorted, "I care about Thomas-chan and me! We love each other, and we don't need the public to tell us that we're not fit to be together!"

"Have you ever heard of a human dating a robot, much less marrying?" Jason asked angrily, "Precisely. You didn't. No human is supposed to date a robot, or vice versa! I asked him to protect you, not be a couple with you!"

"Daddy, you taught me to have feelings!" Kizuna screamed back, "That's I have human feelings now! And I love Thomas-chan! He loves me too! What's wrong with it?"

"Everything!" Jason retorted, "I don't want my daughter to be humiliated! I taught you human feelings to understand them, not to date them! Humans date humans, robots help humans, and that's that!"

He cooled down for a while before saying, "Kizuna, I'll tell Mike to find him, and then we discuss this together."

"No!" Kizuna rebutted while sniffling, "I'll find him myself! I will make sure that he's safe and sound! I'll prove to you our love is real, so that you will believe it and support us!"

Jason then saw tears in her eyes. He is visibly stunned as she cleared her tears and ran out of the house.

"That's...impossible." He thought, "How did she have tears in her eyes? She's a robot. Robot will never have tears in their eyes. Does she have true human feelings in her?"

Back in James's laboratory, he is still creating robots with the machine. Two of the four masked men have went to get coffee and donuts. One is looking at his phone while the last one is looking at him.

James looked at the electric screwdriver on his table and took it up. He stood up, pretending to stretch his body. The man looking at him earlier went to him, "Don't you think of escaping."

"I don't think." James used the tip of the screwdriver to touch the man's forehead, giving him a electric shock, "I know I'm going to escape." He then took a hammer and whacked the man's head.

The man on the phone ran towards James and tried to fight back, but all James had to do is touch the man's phone with the tool so that the man has an electric shock.

Once the two men are down, James placed the screwdriver on the table and went to the linkway. He was about to hop in when someone pulled him back and punched his face. It is one of the two men who had went to buy food and beverages. The first men pinned the professor to the floor while the other one took some metal bars from nearby and bent them before placing them on top of James, effectively restricting James to the ground.

"You sure are one motherfucker." The first man said, "You got two of our friends dead, and tried to escape. Luckily, we two are still here. Of course, the other one is a robot, and that's why he's able to bend metal. I'll call Boss and see what he wants to do with you."

James gulped in fear as the man called Lucas.

"Hey, Boss. James tried to escape and killed two of our men just now...Put on speaker mode? Okay." The man then pressed the speaker mode button on the phone.

"James Watson." Lucas sighed, "You tried your best, but you didn't succeed. A for effort though. I told you not to try anything funny, and yet you did. You love going against me, don't you, James?"

"You will definitely not get your way, Lucas." James growled, "This world won't be your dreamland."

"It will, eventually." Lucas replied, "But fine, since you don't want to help me, you're useless to me. For trying to fuck me up, you're going to pay for it. Men, kill him in the worst way possible."

"And what's that, Boss?" The man asked.

"Electrify him with the screwdriver, so that he can suffer and die slowly. Now, if you excuse me, I will deal with another person. Goodbye, James." Lucas then ended the call. The man went to get the screwdriver while the robot held his head down.

"No!" James shouted as the screwdriver is about to touch his forehead.

Kizuna spent a whole hour searching around the neighborhood to find Thomas. She searched his school, the supermarket, and even went to his house, although his mother told him he's not in, and has not returned home since the morning. Kizuna didn't tell her about his disappearance as she didn't want to worry his mother

Kizuna sat down on a bench and sighed. Even after searching frantically for sixty minutes, she still couldn't find him.

"What happens if I can't see him again?" She thought worriedly, "No, I can't just give up finding him like that. I need to search outside the neighborhood."

Her phone then buzzed. She got a text from Thomas, saying that he's in a warehouse and he needs help. An anxious Kizuna stood up immediately and rushed towards the warehouse.

Lucas switched the phone off and told his men to bring Thomas over to the river and throw him off there.

"Where are you bringing me, you assholes?" Thomas asked angrily.

"Shut your mouth up, little boy." Lucas said, "Soon, I'll get my Master title, and you'll have to bow down to me. That is, if you manage to survive in the sea with your hands tied behind your back."

"You motherfucker!" Thomas screamed, "Let me out!"

"In one, two..." Lucas and his men swung Thomas's body from left to right, "...and three!"

They then let go of Thomas as soon as they swung him towards the right, making him fly into the river.

"Hey, you guys!" A passerby saw it and pointed at Lucas, "Stop there!"

Lucas and his men ignored the passerby and walked off. The passerby took off his shirt and swam in to save Thomas.

Jason told Mike to come to his house.

"Master, may I ask why did you want me to come over?" Mike asked.

"Kizuna has ran away, and Thomas went missing." Jason answered, "I hope you can find them both. But, of course, finding Kizuna is my priority."

"Yes, Master." Mike said, "I'll tell my men to search for Thomas. I'll find Kizuna personally. You will not have to worry so much."

"I worry a lot about her." Jason replied, "She's currently dating Thomas. Do you know that?"

"No, Master."

"Well, now you know. She doesn't even think about the consequences of dating a human. People will laugh at her and Thomas. Even if they don't, they still face a lot of problems. Thomas is a human and will eventually die one day, but Kizuna will survive as long as she is fixed regularly. What happens if Thomas leaves her one day? She will feel so heartbroken. Besides, if she keeps dating humans, the human population will slowly go down. She can't even fuck a human, for Christ's sake!"

"She will understand your intentions, Master." Mike comforted him by patting his shoulder, "I will find Kizuna and Thomas, and bring them home safely."

"I hope so." Jason sighed, "Even in a modernized world, we can never live a life of perfection. Mike, send out an announcement to search for Kizuna. Whoever manages to find her will get a big sum of money."

"Are you sure, Master?"

Jason looked outside the window before looking at Mike with certainty, "Yes."

A few minutes later, Thomas opened his eyes. He realized he is in a hospital ward, and he is on the hospital bed.

"Holy shit. What just happened?" He thought as he rubbed his eyes. He don't know how he got here, considering he was about to die in the sea earlier on.

His mother rushed in the ward and sat beside him, "Did you know I was so worried about you, my dear Thomas? I just told you to buy some groceries, not go missing! Where did you go?"

"Mum, I don't know."

"What'chu mean you don't know? You went out and didn't call me back or anything! You probably went to the bar or the arcade or something without lettin' me know!"

"Mum, I got taken away by some people." Thomas explained, "I don't know who these people are, I don't know why they did that. Come to think about it, they took my phone away too. I'm serious, Mum. Why do you think I had ended up in here for?"

"Oh, by the way, one of your female friends came over to ask if you were around." His mother told him, "That's when I knew that you were missing."

"A female friend?" Thomas questioned, "Is she wearing a white and pink shirt with a white skirt? And velvet red heels?"

"Something like that."

"May I lend your phone, Mum?"

Kizuna walked into a warehouse and looked around frantically. She see no signs of her beloved boyfriend anywhere.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She looked at it and realized it is an unknown number. Fearing that it might be Jason, Mike, or their bunch of officers, she rejected the call. Her phone rang once again a few seconds later. Annoyed, she ignored it and continued searching for Thomas.

When it rang for a third time, Kizuna is pissed. That phone call had been disrupting her from finding Thomas.

She planned to scream at the caller and then end the call. She answered the call and screamed, "Shut up!"

Before she could end the call, she heard a familiar voice.

"Ai-chan, it's me, Thomas." Thomas is on the other line, "Don't end the call, please. You've done that for the first two times."

"It was you all along?!" Kizuna asked surprisingly, "Where are you? Where's your phone then? Why are you using someone else's phone?"

"I'm using my mother's phone, and I'm in the hospital. But that's not the main point, Ai-chan. The main point is, you've walked into a trap. You've been lured with my name. So I want you to get out of there as fast as possible."

A few meters behind her, three robots slowly crept to her.

"How do I know if you're the real Thomas?" She asked, "One moment, I've received a text from you, saying you were in this creepy warehouse and you needed help. The next thing, you are in the hospital. What is going on?"

"Alright, to prove I'm real, my mother's beside me." Thomas passed the phone to his mother.

"Hey, you went to look for my son just now, didn't you?" His mother queried, "The doctor said he was saved by someone else already, and now he's in the hospital recovering."

Thomas then snatched the phone back, "See, Ai-chan? Come to the hospital now, and I'll tell you everything."

"Geez, you just made me come here all the way for..." As she is talking, the robots placed a bag over here, causing her to drop her phone. Two of the robots then griped her hands tightly, not allowing her to escape.

"Who are you?" Kizuna screamed. She tried wiggling free of the grip, but they are too strong.

"Let me go!" She shouted as the third robot took some metal chains.

"Ai-chan!" Thomas shrieked before the call ended, "Shit! She's in trouble now! I need to get out now!"

"Sit down, son." His mother pushed him back onto the bed, "I don't want you to lose your life. You almost lost it earlier, remember?"

"But..."

"Let the police handle it." His mother said to him. At that moment, Jason entered the ward.

"Thomas, where's Kizuna?" He asked.


	15. Chapter 15

Kizuna slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She had just fainted from smelling some gas released by her captors. She is gagged with a paper ball in her mouth and has tape pasted on her mouth.

She is sitting down on a chair in the middle of an unknown room. She tried getting up but something seemed to restraint her from doing so. She looked at the back to see her hands tied up tightly with metal chains. She turned back to the front and looked down to see her legs tied up with metal chains too. She muffled loudly as she tried to wriggle free of the chains. She stomped her heels on the floor continuously, trying to free her legs.

Lucas walked into the room, smiling at her, "How's your day, miss pretty?" She just muffled back.

"My bad." He removed the tape and the ball from her mouth, "Now, how'e your day?"

"Aren't you the guy I met at the pharmacy?" She asked, "Why are you keeping me captive here?"

"That's not answering my question, Ms Robot." Lucas touched her face. She moved her face away.

"Look here, you bitch." Lucas commanded her, but she just kept looking away. Lucas then pulled her hair, and she screamed in pain.

"Look at me, you bitch." Lucas growled, "Do not go against me, because I'll make you regret it. Listen up, you'd better stay here and be a good robot here. If you try anything funny, I'll actually kill you. I did it to someone. I don't want to do it to such a pretty robot like you."

He then took out a grenade and stuffed it in her mouth, "This should keep you quiet now. If you fidget too much, this might go off, and you'll die. Have fun." Lucas then walked out of the room.

Kizuna muffled loudly once more. She then slouched on the chair and sighed while she hoped for Thomas to come in and save her.

As Thomas and his mother are talking to each other, Jason entered the ward in a haste. His eyes met Thomas's.

"Thomas, where's Kizuna?" He asked.

"Mast...I mean, Mr Jason, I do not know where she might be." Thomas replied, "I think she is in a warehouse now. I called her earlier, and she seemed like she is in trouble. She suddenly ended the call while I was talking to her."

"Are you for real?" Jason asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry, Mr Jason." Thomas looked down on his bed, "I didn't expect that this would happen."

"Sorry to interrupt you." The doctor came in, "I'm just hear to make an announcement. The patient Thomas Springfield can be discharged now. You can pay your hospitalization bills at the counter later." He then went out.

A few minutes later, Jason brought Thomas to the former's house. They waited for Mike to arrive before discussing about Kizuna.

"So, how do we do it now?" Thomas asked.

"I have no idea where to start even." Jason said, "All I know is one of those rioters are behind it."

"It can only be Lucas Lee." Mike added on, "Simon Costner is killed, and I have evidence that Lucas entered the house."

"But why would he do that?" Thomas asked curiously.

"Because of me." Jason said, "If he had done this, it is to get back at me for making him have robotic hands and legs."

"I tend to think it is not a shallow hate he has for you, Master." Mike said, "He deeply hates you a lot for many reasons."

"Whatever it is, I'm going to end him alone." Jason stated, "If I need to go down to Hell with him, I'd gladly do it. I need to get rid of this threat immediately, or this world my great-grandfather had built will fall and crumble into pieces."

"Don't be so rash, Master." Thomas replied, "I'm sure we can find a way to save Ai-chan and eliminate that guy."

"And you didn't even tell me about your relationship with Kizuna." Jason glared at the student, "You and Kizuna have been hiding it very perfectly."

"Look, Master, I can explain..."

"What made you think it's okay to date a robot?" Jason asked angrily, "Even after you broke up with the girl that tried to kill my damn daughter?!"

At this moment, Mike's phone rang. He fished it out and saw that a caller with an unknown number called him. Mike answered the call.

"I believe this is the hotline to call for finding Kizuna AI." The guy on the other line said, "May I speak to the Master?"

"May I know your name?" Mike asked.

"Lee. Lucas Lee."

Mike handed the phone over to Jason, "It's Lucas. He got your daughter." Jason took the phone and placed it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, Master. Long time no see." Lucas cackled, "Remember me by my voice? Or perhaps you remembered me because I created a ruckus in your police stations?"

"Lucas Lee, you'd better let go of my daughter now." Jason snarled, "Because if you don't, I'mma rip the shit out of your heart."

"Such ferocious words, Master. Or should I call you Jason? Or maybe Coleman? Or Kizuna's dad? Hmm, so many names."

"Stop playing games with me, you fucking son of a bitch. Where is Kizuna?"

"Such attitude towards the person holding your daughter captive." Lucas said, "You know I can hurt your daughter anytime."

"You'd better not."

"It's not like I'm going to listen to you. I'm not your dog." Lucas took a crowbar to hit Kizuna's breasts, which in turn made her muffle in pain loudly.

"Don't you dare bully my daughter, you asshole!" Jason shouted, "Or else..."

"Or else what, Master?" Lucas teased, "Does it sound like I give a fuck at all? No. No, I don't." He then took a crowbar and whacked Kizuna's face. She, again, muffled in pain.

"Stop it! I'll do anything, Lucas!" Jason screamed, "Don't hurt my daughter anymore! Please!"

"Finally! You're listening to me like a good little dog now!" Lucas laughed, "If you want to see your daughter again, come and find me alone. I repeat; alone. A.L.O.N.E. Bring no one with you. I'll send you the location, and then there, we'll talk it out."

"Then..." Before Jason could speak more, Lucas ended the call. Jason punched the wall furiously, "Fuck!"

"What did Lucas say?" Thomas asked.

"He's holding Kizuna captive, and he wants me to report to the location alone." Jason replied.

"You can't go there alone, Master." Mike retorted, "Lucas will definitely kill you there, and by then, none of us can save you. He will take the position, and wreck havoc."

"Then what do suggest we do, Mike?" Jason questioned.

"I got an idea." Mike answered, "But I would need both of your cooperation."

Jason and Thomas looked at each other before nodding.

In the unknown room, Kizuna stared at the ceiling. She can't even move so much because she's scared the grenade might blow up anytime, so she might as well not struggle and do nothing.

Lucas came in whistling the tune of 'New Light' by John Mayer. He saw her and went to her.

"Are you suffering in pain?" Lucas asked. Kizuna didn't care or listen to what he said.

"Well, it's okay." Lucas slowly brushed through her legs with his hands, "Your savior's coming soon. But he's going to get killed by me. Then I'll become the new Master, and you'll listen to me like a good dog should."

Kizuna didn't respond at all. Lucas, not satisfied that she didn't talk anything, decided to take the crowbar to smack her face with force. She muffled loudly in pain and kicked Lucas in the crotch.

"How dare you kick me!" Lucas was about to strike Kizuna with the crowbar when Mike and Thomas barged into the room. Lucas quickly threw the crowbar away, took out a shotgun and aimed it at Kizuna's head.

"Let go of her now!" Thomas shouted.

"Why should I?" Lucas asked, "I asked the Master to come, not you two dumbheads. Come any closer, and I'll shoot her down."

"You think any gun can shoot her down?" Mike asked.

"Of course not." Lucas reloaded the shotgun and shot at the wall before aiming it back at her head. The wall now had a hole.

"This bullet can pierce through anything." Lucas gave an evil smile, "I stole it from the police officers. Interesting that your officers are so useless and can't even go against me, isn't it?"

"Let go of her. Now." Mike pointed his pistol at Lucas, "If you surrender now, there will be a lighter sentence."

"Please don't lie to me, Mike." Lucas laughed, "I know it's either I'm free or I'm getting a death sentence. You trying to sugar-coat me with your lies? It's impossible now. So back away. I want to see the Master only. If I count to ten, and you're still here, you'll see this robot die in front of your eyes!"

When Lucas started counting, Jason slowly crept to Lucas from the back door. As soon as Lucas counted to nine, Jason pulled him back and pulled his shotgun upwards, causing Lucas to shoot up. Then, Lucas accidentally kicked the chair Kizuna is on.

As the chair is falling, Thomas rushed forward and managed to catch her. The grenade, unfortunately, dropped out of her mouth. The safety pin came off.

"Ai-chan!" Thomas quickly untied her, "I'm so glad you're alive. Are you fine? Are you injured in any way?"

"I'm fine." She hugged Thomas, "I'm so relieved I'm saved by you guys." She then pointed to the grenade, "I'm more worried about that though." Upon seeing that, Mike covered Thomas and Kizuna with his body away as smoke came out of it.

"It's a smoke grenade?" Thomas asked.

Jason punched Lucas to the wall before turning to the three of them, "Mike, bring them out."

"Daddy, we won't leave you alone!" Kizuna exclaimed.

"Now's not the time to say this." Jaosn replied, "Get out now." Mike carried Thomas and Kizuna out of the room as Lucas and Jason fought.

"How did Master know that there was a back door in that room?" Thomas asked Mike.

"Master had came to this place countless times because this place had a field at the first floor." Mike explained, "He trained the jailed protestors here and explored this place. Luckily, Lucas brought the female robot here, or else we would have to stick to my original plan, which is quite bad."

"What's the original plan?" Kizuna asked.

"To barge in and try and kill Lucas as fast as possible, although that has a high risk of you getting killed too."

"I'm glad Master knew the place." Thomas said, "But where are we going now?"

"I'll bring you there." Mike answered. Back in the room, the smoke started filling the whole room as Lucas carried Jason and threw him across the room.

"Give it up, Jason Coleman!" Lucas shouted, "You aren't a match for me from the start! Not only can't you lead well, you ruined the whole world with your one stupid, retarded, fucking asinine rule."

"It's to stop killers and murderers like you." Jason growled, "You killed your own teammate, and even your own brother."

"I deserve to be the Master of this world, not you." Lucas held Jason up by his neck and squeezed it, "You made me barely survive, made my brother a dog of yours, and let me to struggle with my life because I have robotic hands and legs now. I could have had normal human parts if you had attended to me immediately. Instead, you waited a long while, watching me suffer. You let the people involved in Simon's accident run away scot-free. You didn't help anyone with the rule. You even caused my younger brother's death. You can't keep your word at all. But, with me as the Master, I'll definitely make this world a better place to live in. People no longer have to live in fear. People don't need to be scared of the death sentence anymore. Most importantly, there won't be riots."

Jason took out a metal syringe filled with some misty gas and hid it behind his back.

"With me, citizens can rest assured the family members of the criminals will be given fair punishment instead of death, and family members of the victim will have compensation." Lucas continued, "Everyone will follow my one simple rule: obey my instructions at all times. And those who don't listen to me...will suffer the consequences."

"You'll make this world into a more messier place than before." Jason rebutted.

"You are wrong." Lucas uttered, "Everyone will be under me. Everyone will listen to me. Everyone will lead a better life. No more worries about the death sentence."

"I shall not grant you your wish!" Jason stabbed Lucas's head with the syringe. Immediately, Lucas felt dizzy and let go of Jason. He ran out of the room and closed the door as the smoke now filled the whole room.

Mike took Thomas and Kizuna to the police station, where he took a big-sized gun and hopped into a small helicopter.

"Get in, you dimwits!" Mike called them out. The two went in and sat down on the seats.

"What's that gun?" Kizuna asked.

"The Propeller. Shoots six bullets in one round. Comes out one by one, with an interval of a millisecond, and no recoil. When fully charged, the bullets from its first three shots are able to take anyone down."

"Isn't that like Lucas's gun?" Thomas asked.

"Well, he stole our bullets from the station, and that was like our only piercing bullets left." Mike responded, "Our only strong weapon is this gun now. Hold tight, and buckle up your seatbelts. I'm going to get you out of here."

"What about Daddy?" Kizuna asked worriedly, "We can't just leave him alone here."

"I know. We're going to meet him somewhere. I'll fill you in later." Mike then started the plane and pressed a button. It shot out a missile from the plane and it destroyed part of the station.

"Let's get out." Mike drove the plane out. He looked from the front and saw many rioters shooting rocks at the plane. Some even aimed their guns at it and started shooting.

"For fuck's sake." Mike cursed. He steered the helicopter and drove towards a different direction.

Jason ran out of the building and made a run for the harbor. Mike had told him to meet there so that they can escape.

He walked a few meters away from the building and saw a bag lying there.

He placed it there before going up earlier, and didn't tell Mike and Thomas about it. He didn't want to escape: he wanted to face up to the problem and destroy this world because he had screwed it up. He's the one who started this war, and he's going to end it.

But at the same time, he didn't want to leave his close friends and family. His servant, Mike. His daughter, Kizuna. He really can't come to a final decision. Still, he took the bag.

Mike steered the helicopter to the helicopter pad of the harbor. He then got out of it.

"You two, stay here." Mike commanded them, "I'll protect this vehicle. Hopefully, Master comes here as soon as possible." He then took out the Propeller and ran off.

"Do you think we'll be safe?" Kizuna asked Thomas with anxiety. He held her hands and looked at her, "We will. I will protect you even if we're in danger. Trust me, alright?"

Kizuna smiled and nodded her head before hugging him. He hugged her back.

As Jason is running on the road, many people and robots ran after him. They held metal bars, swords, and knives.

"Why are all these people chasing after me?" He thought as he hid behind a building. He then heard gunshots.

"They're even bringing guns into this?" Jason widened his eyes in horror.

"I am here, Jason Coleman!" Lucas shouted, "Wherever you're hiding, you better come out and surrender yourself. You dare trap me into the room, you'd better dare show yourself."

Jason took a grenade from his bag and threw it out before running away. Some of the rioters went near before it exploded right in front of them.

"I want you to search for him and bring him over to me!" Lucas told the protestors, "We can then kill him and I can become the new Master. Everyone will benefit from it! Find him, and we can call this world our world!" He then let out an evil cackle.

Mike managed to shoot down some before seeing Jason running towards him.

"Master, you made it back." Mike said, "Let's get back to the helicopter."

"Actually, Mike..." Jason was about to talk when Mike pushed him to the left and shot another rioter.

"Quick, Master!" Mike ran off towards the helicopter. Jason followed him. Back at the helicopter, Kizuna and Thomas are waiting for Jason and Mike to return.

Kizuna beamed when she saw Jason. She ran out of the helicopter and hugged him, "Daddy, I'm glad you're back!"

"Kizuna..." He held her hands and looked at her, "...I got something to tell you..."

"Master, it's time to move!" Mike told him, "If we continue to be here, we all will be in danger. There's just too many rioters already."

"Guys." Jason said, "I've came to a decision. I'm staying here to solve this problem."

Mike, Thomas, and Kizuna looked at him with utter shock.

"What are you saying, Daddy?" Kizuna asked, "We're supposed to get out of here now."

"If we do get out of here, they will chase us nonstop." Jason explained, "They will manage to find us, and we have to keep running away. We will never defeat them. We're outnumbered. Besides, we can't get out of the world yet. I haven't deactivated the shield."

"Master, I thought you did it earlier." Mike said, "I thought you followed my plans."

"One of us has to sacrifice even if I deactivated it." Jason sighed, "We can't let Lucas keep chasing us. At least if he and his people are dead, you three are safe."

"Daddy!" Kizuna slapped his face, "What are you thinking?! We can't leave you behind! I'm your fucking daughter!"

"I'm sorry, Kizuna." Jason sighed, "I can't forgive myself for causing this big mess. I need to stop these people before they do anything worse."

"I can take over your place, Master." Mike suggested.

"I can too!" Kizuna added, "You can rebuilt me again after this whole thing!"

"No." Jason shook his head, "Never. I want to kill them and be killed. I've done so much to fuck this place up. I need to pay for all I've done. I've started this war, and I have to end it. Please, respect my decision."

Kizuna looked at him with tears coming out from her eyes, "I can't, Daddy. I fucking can't!" They were interrupted by a loud 'hey!' sound from Lucas as he and his rioters advanced towards the helicopter.

"Thomas, please take good care of my daughter." Jason said to Thomas, "Love her with all you can. Can you do it?"

"Yes, Master!" Thomas replied.

"Mike, take care of these two." Jason told Mike, "You have been a very good servant to me, and I appreciate it."

"You've saved my life after all, Master." He then hugged Jason. Finally, Jason turned to the crying Kizuna.

"Kizuna..."

"Daddy, why?" She cried, "Why must you do this?"

"I'm sorry, Kizuna. I really want to own up to my mistakes. I want to end this war right now. I know I'm being very selfish to you, but I just want you to be safe. I really love you, Kizuna. You've helped me cope with my stress, my depression, my problems. You've always been there for me. I'm so proud and happy that I have a daughter like you."

"Please don't say that." She bawled her eyes out. Jason hugged her and patted her head, "I will always be in your heart." He then passed her a picture of him and her.

"I love you, Kizuna." Jason sighed before turning to Mike, "Mike, lock the helicopter. Once the border is open, go for it immediately."

"Yes...Master." He choked, knowing that he's going to see Jason and call him Master for one last time. Jason then jumped out of the helicopter. Kizuna was about to follow when Thomas quickly closed the door and held her back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Ai-chan?!" Thomas asked angrily.

"Let me go! I want to be with Daddy!" She screamed, "I want to be the one sacrificing, not him! I...I..." She then started crying uncontrollably. Thomas hugged her.

"Here, you fuckfaces!" Jason screamed at Lucas before running towards his office. Lucas and his rioters chased after him.

Jason wore a strap with grenade bombs around his hips while running. When he reached his office, he searched his drawers for a remote control.

As soon as he finally found it, he pressed a big red button on it. At the same time, Lucas and some of the rioters came in.

"You've nowhere to run now, Jason." Lucas aimed his gun at him, "Give it up, and let me be the Master. I'll then give you mercy."

"I will end you guys, and I will bring myself down with you!" Jason removed the safety pin of one of the grenades and swallowed it down his throat. He then threw himself and his bag, which is full of dynamites, at Lucas and the rioters before the grenade exploded.

Mike quickly flew towards the border as the buildings started blowing up and the world started collapsing.

"Daddy!" Kizuna screamed as the helicopter barely got out of the world. The world exploded into pieces and disappeared. Now, the helicopter is in space. Kizuna hugged her boyfriend more tightly now and weeped loudly.

After a few hours, as Kizuna is tired from all the crying, she fell asleep. Thomas sat beside Mike.

"I didn't know a robot could cry." Thomas said.

"Me too." Mike said, "I'm a robot, and yet I can't cry. Master must have really taught her really well."

"It's sad Master sacrificed himself to save us." Thomas gulped, "He was really a good man."

"He always is."

"By the way, Mike, where are we going now?" Thomas asked. Mike looked at him and Kizuna before turning back to the front.

"I don't know."

**\- - - - -**

Jason walked into a house. He looked around and realized that this house actually looked like his old one. The one he had bought with Chantelle.

He glanced around, hoping to find something of use to him. Chantelle and a small girl then stepped out of their room.

He looked at them, and they looked at him. The small girl then ran to him and hugged his legs, "Daddy!"

Jason patted her head and looked at Chantelle. Tears flew down from her eyes as she ran to him and hugged him.

"I miss you." Chantelle whispered in his ear.

"Me too." Jason replied. Both of them then looked at each other and kissed each other on the lips.


End file.
